75-662: The Bowdoin Prizes are prestigious awards given annually to Harvard University undergraduate and graduate students. From the income of the bequest of Governor James Bowdoin , AB 1745, prizes are offered to students at the university in graduate and undergraduate categories for essays in the English language, in the natural sciences, in Greek and in Latin. Each winner of a Bowdoin Prize receives, in addition to
150-675: A 21-acre (8.5 ha) campus in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area in Boston , about 3.3 miles (5.3 km) south of the Cambridge campus. Several Harvard-affiliated hospitals and research institutes are also in Longwood, including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center , Boston Children's Hospital , Brigham and Women's Hospital , Dana–Farber Cancer Institute , Joslin Diabetes Center , and
225-735: A 358-acre (145 ha) campus in the Allston section of Boston across the John W. Weeks Bridge , which crosses the Charles River and connects the Allston and Cambridge campuses. The university is actively expanding into Allston, where it now owns more land than in Cambridge. Plans include new construction and renovation for the Business School, a hotel and conference center, graduate student housing, Harvard Stadium, and other athletics facilities. In 2021,
300-548: A Free Society , was published by Harvard faculty, which remains one of the most important works in curriculum studies , and women were first admitted to the medical school . Between 1945 and 1960, admissions were standardized to open the university to a more diverse group of students. Following the end of World War II , for example, special exams were developed so veterans could be considered for admission. No longer drawing mostly from prestigious prep schools in New England ,
375-551: A GPA of 3.8 or above. Between 1954 and 2022, 256 of 2,179 scholars received their undergraduate degrees from Harvard University (12 percent), 138 from Princeton University , 125 from Yale University , 94 from Stanford University , and 83 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . Among public universities, the top producers are the United States Military Academy , with 47 scholars, followed by
450-549: A lasting understanding of British society, Marshall Scholars will strengthen the enduring relationship between the British and American peoples, their governments, and their institutions. Marshall Scholars are talented, independent, and wide-ranging in their interests, and their time as Scholars will enhance their intellectual and personal growth. Their direct engagement with Britain through its best academic programmes will contribute to their ultimate personal success. In appointing Scholars
525-631: A limited number of one-year Marshall scholarships are available. Unlike Rhodes Scholars, Marshall Scholars must be American citizens (in comparison, approximately eighty Rhodes Scholarships are given annually to citizens of over a dozen countries). In the process, the Marshall Scholarship is roughly as selective as the Rhodes and Mitchell Scholarships : the Marshall was awarded to 3.4 percent of university-endorsed applicants in 2014, compared to 3.7 percent for
600-464: A short list of candidates for interviews. Each committee then interviews each of the regional finalists before making the final decisions on the year's awards. In 2014, sixteen percent of university-endorsed applicants received an interview. Although most of the responsibility for selecting the recipients is in the hands of the committees, a few formal guidelines have been outlined in the official selection criteria, most notably: As future leaders, with
675-463: A sum of money, a medal, a certificate and their name printed in the commencement program. The award was established in 1791, and past winners include (with year of award and professional highlights): Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts , United States. Founded October 28, 1636, and named for its first benefactor,
750-572: A union. Bacow retired in June 2023, and on July 1 Claudine Gay , a Harvard professor in the Government and African American Studies departments and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences , became Harvard's 30th president. In January 2024, just six months into her presidency, Gay resigned following allegations of antisemitism and plagiarism . Gay was succeeded by Alan Garber , the university's provost, who
825-519: Is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans [and] their country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom . It is widely considered one of the most prestigious scholarships for U.S. citizens, and along with the Fulbright Scholarship , it is the only broadly available scholarship available to Americans to study at any university in
SECTION 10
#1732869098651900-546: Is essential to the good of mankind in this turbulent world of today, and that is not possible without an intimate understanding of each other. These scholarships point the way to the continuation and growth of the understanding which found its necessity in the terrible struggle of the war years." The published objectives of the Marshall Scholarships are outlined as follows: Prospective applicants must first be endorsed by their universities to apply. The selection process
975-477: Is the world's largest academic library . Harvard alumni, faculty, and researchers include 188 living billionaires , eight U.S. presidents , 24 heads of state and 31 heads of government , founders of notable companies, Nobel laureates , Fields Medalists , members of Congress , MacArthur Fellows , Rhodes Scholars , Marshall Scholars , Turing Award Recipients , Pulitzer Prize recipients, and Fulbright Scholars ; by most metrics, Harvard University ranks among
1050-480: Is then coordinated through the eight major British embassy/consulate regions in the United States ( Atlanta , Boston , Chicago , Houston , Los Angeles , New York , San Francisco , and Washington, D.C. ). Selection committees in each region, consisting of former scholars and other distinguished individuals, receive university-endorsed applications (including personal statements and essays) which are used to select
1125-516: The American Revolution . In the 19th century, Harvard was influenced by Enlightenment Age ideas, including reason and free will, which were widespread among Congregational ministers and which placed these ministers and their congregations at odds with more traditionalist, Calvinist pastors and clergies. Following the death of Hollis Professor of Divinity David Tappan in 1803 and that of Joseph Willard , Harvard's eleventh president,
1200-523: The Carnegie Classification . The medical school consistently ranks first among medical schools for research, and biomedical research is an area of particular strength for the university. More than 11,000 faculty and 1,600 graduate students conduct research at the medical school and its 15 affiliated hospitals and research institutes. In 2019, the medical school and its affiliates attracted $ 1.65 billion in competitive research grants from
1275-674: The Cooper Union , and Caltech . They also include two Nobel Laureates , a winner of the Kluge Prize , four Pulitzer Prize –winning authors, twelve MacArthur Genius Grant awardees, NASA's youngest astronaut , two Oscar nominees, and one awardee of the Distinguished Flying Cross for service during the Iraq War . Plans to establish Marshall Scholarships as a living memorial to United States Secretary of State George C. Marshall
1350-490: The Darfur genocide , and tobacco , fossil fuel , and private prison industries. In the late 1980s, during the disinvestment from South Africa movement, student activists erected a symbolic shanty town on Harvard Yard and blockaded a speech by South African Vice Consul Duke Kent-Brown. The university eventually reduced its South African holdings by $ 230 million , out of a total of $ 400 million , in response to
1425-452: The Faculty of Arts and Sciences , including Sever Hall , Harvard Hall , and freshman dormitories . Upperclassmen live in the twelve residential houses , located south of Harvard Yard near the Charles River and on Radcliffe Quadrangle , which formerly housed Radcliffe College students. Each house is a community of undergraduates, faculty deans, and resident tutors, with its own dining hall, library, and recreational facilities. Also on
1500-696: The German Marshall Fund and the British Embassy, Washington , hosted the Harvard Marshall Forum at Harvard University to mark the 70th anniversary of the Marshall Plan and focused on its legacy and impact today. The event featured 30 speakers including Madeleine Albright as well as Supreme Court Justices Stephen Breyer and Neil Gorsuch , both Marshall Scholars. In 2018, the AMS partnered with
1575-591: The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences , the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) , and the Division of Continuing Education , which includes Harvard Summer School and Harvard Extension School . There are nine other graduate and professional faculties and a faculty attacked to the Harvard Radcliffe Institute . There are four Harvard joint programs with MIT , which include
SECTION 20
#17328690986511650-631: The Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences expanded into the new Allston-based Science and Engineering Complex (SEC), which is more than 500,000 square feet in size. SEC is adjacent to the Enterprise Research Campus, the Business School, and Harvard Innovation Labs, and designed to encourage technology- and life science-focused startups and collaborations with mature companies. The university's schools of Medicine , Dental Medicine , and Public Health are located on
1725-677: The Harvard–MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology , the Broad Institute , The Observatory of Economic Complexity , and edX . The university maintains 12 schools, which include: Harvard is a founding member of the Association of American Universities and a preeminent research university with "very high" research activity (R1) and comprehensive doctoral programs across the arts, sciences, engineering, and medicine, according to
1800-712: The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine have also sometimes been highly preferred. In 2015, there were 69 Marshall Scholars in residence at British universities including those who were selected for the classes of 2012, 2013 and 2014. During this time, there were 27 scholars at the University of Oxford, seventeen at the University of London (including five each at the London School of Economics and King's College London, and one at University College London), thirteen at
1875-672: The Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission and are largely funded by the British government. The program was also the first major co-educational British graduate scholarship; one-third of the inaugural cohort in 1954 were women. With nearly 1,000 university-endorsed and selected applicants in recent years, it is among the most selective graduate scholarships for Americans, with an acceptance rate of around four percent, and as low as 3.2 percent in 2015. There are over 1,900 Marshall Scholar alumni . Many of these alumni have achieved distinctions and hold prestigious careers. In
1950-646: The National Institutes of Health , more than twice that of any other university. Harvard Library , the largest academic library in the world with 20.4 million holdings, is centered in Widener Library in Harvard Yard . It includes 25 individual Harvard libraries around the world with a combined staff of more than 800 librarians and personnel. Houghton Library , the Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on
2025-645: The Puritan clergyman John Harvard , it is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Its influence, wealth, and rankings have made it one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Harvard was founded and authorized by the Massachusetts General Court , the governing legislature of colonial -era Massachusetts Bay Colony . While never formally affiliated with any denomination , Harvard trained Congregational clergy until its curriculum and student body were gradually secularized in
2100-543: The Rhodes Scholarship and even considered using the same selection committees, this idea was eventually disregarded because its proponents strongly believed the scholarships should be available to women, and to married men under the age of 28; at the time, the Rhodes Scholarship was limited to single men under the age of 25. The creation of a separate scholarship was a cause of great concern to Lord Godfrey Elton ,
2175-572: The United States Naval Academy (34 scholars) and the University of California, Berkeley (33 scholars). The following table includes those institutions that have produced 30 or more scholars since 1954. Nine institutions are traditionally the main destinations of selected Marshall Scholars: University of Oxford , University of Cambridge , London School of Economics , University College London , University of Edinburgh , King's College London and Imperial College London . SOAS and
2250-787: The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering . Additional affiliates, including Massachusetts General Hospital , are located throughout Greater Boston . Harvard owns Dumbarton Oaks , a research library in Washington, D.C., Harvard Forest in Petersham, Massachusetts , Concord Field Station in Estabrook Woods in Concord, Massachusetts , the Villa I Tatti research center in Florence , Italy, and
2325-521: The 18th century. By the 19th century, Harvard emerged as the most prominent academic and cultural institution among the Boston elite . Following the American Civil War , under Harvard president Charles William Eliot 's long tenure from 1869 to 1909, Harvard developed multiple professional schools, which transformed it into a modern research university . In 1900, Harvard co-founded the Association of American Universities . James B. Conant led
Bowdoin Prizes - Misplaced Pages Continue
2400-413: The 20th century, as its endowment burgeoned and prominent intellectuals and professors affiliated with it, Harvard University's reputation as one of the world's most prestigious universities grew notably. The university's enrollment also underwent substantial growth, a product of both the founding of new graduate academic programs and an expansion of the undergraduate college . Radcliffe College emerged as
2475-668: The AMS hosted the Marshall Forum with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace , focusing on peace and prosperity. The Forum featured 17 speakers including the Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney , the Director of U.S. National Security Agency General Paul Nakasone , former U.S. Ambassadors Michael Froman , Carla Hills , and William J. Burns , and former British Ambassador to
2550-909: The British Consulate General in San Francisco and the Bechtel International Center at Stanford University to host a Marshall Forum on Innovation. The Forum focused on the pipeline of scientific invention in fields such as biomedicine and genetics that are of particular interest to the United States and the United Kingdom. Distinguished speakers included Reid Hoffman , a Marshall Scholar, and David Reitze , Director of LIGO Laboratory. The forum highlighted societal challenges and opportunities raised by explosive innovations in these fields as they interact with advances in machine learning, artificial intelligence, and data science. In 2019,
2625-930: The Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece. https://greece.chs.harvard.edu the Harvard Shanghai Center in Shanghai , China, and Arnold Arboretum in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston. Harvard is governed by a combination of its Board of Overseers and the President and Fellows of Harvard College , which is also known as the Harvard Corporation. These two bodies, in turn, appoint the President of Harvard University . There are 16,000 staff and faculty, including 2,400 professors, lecturers, and instructors. Harvard has
2700-711: The Harvard Library system include Baker Library/Bloomberg Center at Harvard Business School , Cabot Science Library at Harvard Science Center , Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C. , Gutman Library at the Harvard Graduate School of Education , Harvard Film Archive at the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts , Houghton Library , and Lamont Library . Marshall Scholarship The Marshall Scholarship
2775-694: The History of Women in America, and the Harvard University Archives consist principally of rare and unique materials. The nation's oldest collection of maps, gazetteers, and atlases is stored in Pusey Library on Harvard Yard , which is open to the public. The largest collection of East-Asian language material outside of East Asia is held in Harvard-Yenching Library . Other major libraries in
2850-629: The Marshall Scholarship annually. In 2015 and 2016, 3.2 and 3.5 percent of university-endorsed applicants to the Marshall Scholarship were elected. In 2020, 1,000 students were endorsed, 160 interviewed, and 46 selected. The Marshall selection committees place a strong emphasis on academic achievement and potential, and as such the application requires a minimum GPA of 3.7. Successful applicants, however, typically have much higher GPAs—more than half of applicants have perfect academic records. Winners from Harvard University have had average GPA of 3.92, and Stanford University recommends that applicants have
2925-438: The Marshall Scholarship received a finalist interview, compared to 24 percent of Rhodes applicants and 5.4 percent of Mitchell applicants. While the selection committees continue to emphasize academic potential, over time "the Marshall program has become more Rhodes-like, stating that it is seeking persons who also demonstrate leadership potential." In general, "nearly all Rhodes Scholars are willing to admit that, by and large,
3000-513: The Marshalls are superior if one looks just at grade point averages and other signs of academic achievement," but this is a point of both "admiration" and "disdain." Walter Isaacson , describing Rhodes Scholars as "fairly intelligent, well-rounded, honest people who could be counted on to be upstanding citizens," has said that "the real geniuses...were the Marshall Scholars," perhaps because of
3075-432: The Rhodes in 2014, and 3.2 percent for the Mitchell Scholarship in 2017. The Gates Cambridge Scholarship is slightly more selective with 1.3% of applicants receiving an award. Also, because the selection processes of the scholarships discussed above differ, the likelihood that an applicant will be granted a final round interview is different for each scholarship. In 2014, 15.9 percent of university-endorsed applicants for
Bowdoin Prizes - Misplaced Pages Continue
3150-408: The UK. However, under the Fulbright, applicants compete in separate pools for 43 specified universities of varying selectivity, except for two awards tenable at any university. The Marshall Scholarship is more flexible than the Rhodes Scholarship, in that Marshall Scholars can study at any British university, and can also attend a different university each year during a Scholar's tenure. In addition,
3225-438: The United Kingdom. Created by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1953 as a living gift to the United States in recognition of the generosity of Secretary of State George C. Marshall and the Marshall Plan in the wake of World War II , the goal of the scholarship was to strengthen the Special Relationship between the two countries for "the good of mankind in this turbulent world." The scholarships are awarded by
3300-431: The University of Cambridge, and four at Imperial College London. Of these scholars, 46 were studying arts and social sciences while 23 were studying science, engineering or mathematics. In structure and selection criteria, the Scholarship is most similar to the American Rhodes Scholarship and the Fulbright Program. Like the Fulbright available for study in the United Kingdom, Marshall Scholars can study at any university in
3375-472: The churches when our present ministers shall lie in the dust." In its early years, the college trained many Puritan ministers and offered a classical curriculum based on the English university model many colonial-era Massachusetts leaders experienced at the University of Cambridge , where many of them studied prior to immigrating to British America . Harvard never formally affiliated with any particular Protestant denomination, but its curriculum conformed to
3450-400: The commission decided to offer a limited number of one-year awards. In 2016, the Foreign Office announced that forty scholars had been selected, a 25 percent increase over the originally planned 32, with Foreign Office Minister Alok Sharma calling it a demonstration of how "resolute Britain is in its commitment to the special relationship." In the early years of the Marshall Scholarship, it
3525-467: The expectation that Rhodes Scholars be "all-rounders." In practice, the Marshall and Rhodes have engaged an "informal rivalry," but in career trajectory after the completion of their fellowships, "the line between [the fellowships] is not so evident," with scholars pursuing similar fields with similar success. In general, a higher percentage of Marshall Scholars "go on to careers in academia and research, whereas Rhodes Scholars are more evenly scattered through
3600-409: The female counterpart of Harvard College, becoming one of the most prominent schools in the nation for women. In 1923, a year after the percentage of Jewish students at Harvard reached 20%, A. Lawrence Lowell , the university's 22nd president, unsuccessfully proposed capping the admission of Jewish students to 15% of the undergraduate population. Lowell also refused to mandate forced desegregation in
3675-455: The following year, a struggle broke out over their replacements. In 1805, Henry Ware was elected to replace Tappan as Hollis chair. Two years later, in 1807, liberal Samuel Webber was appointed as Harvard's 13th president, representing a shift from traditional ideas at Harvard to more liberal and Arminian ideas. In 1816, Harvard University launched new language programs in the study of French and Spanish , and appointed George Ticknor
3750-507: The following year. In 1638, the university acquired British North America 's first known printing press . The same year, on his deathbed, John Harvard , a Puritan clergyman who emigrated to the colony from England, bequeathed the emerging college £780 and his library of some 320 volumes; the following year, it was named Harvard College . In 1643, a Harvard publication defined the college's purpose: "advance learning and perpetuate it to posterity, dreading to leave an illiterate ministry to
3825-422: The full range of professional occupations." The Association of Marshall Scholars (AMS) was formed in 1988 as a charitable organization . The organization has been led by several notable board and advisory members, including Kathleen Sullivan , Reid Hoffman , Nannerl Keohane , Peter Orszag , Harold Koh , Roger Tsien and Daniel Yergin . In 2017 the Association of Marshall Scholars, in partnership with
SECTION 50
#17328690986513900-497: The government, current alumni include Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States , the director of the CIA , members of Congress and presidential cabinets , and state governors . Alumni are CEOs of companies such as LinkedIn and Dolby Labs , and managing editors of Time magazine and CNN . They are also deans of Yale Law School , Stanford Law School , the Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard College ; and presidents of Duke University , Wellesley College ,
3975-416: The head of the Rhodes Trust at the time, who worried that the ability to study at other universities would draw potential applicants. He urged the Foreign Office to create a "reverse exchange" for British students in the United States instead. The Rhodes Scholarship became open to women beginning in 1977 following the passage of the British Sex Discrimination Act in 1975. In 1959, when Parliament doubled
4050-486: The largest university endowment in the world, valued at about $ 50.7 billion as of 2023. During the recession of 2007–2009 , it suffered significant losses that forced large budget cuts, in particular temporarily halting construction on the Allston Science Complex. The endowment has since recovered. About $ 2 billion of investment income is annually distributed to fund operations. Harvard's ability to fund its degree and financial aid programs depends on
4125-740: The last 15 years." By 1960, six years after its establishment, the scholarship was "on its way to becoming as well-known and respected as the fellow phrase, "Rhodes [Scholarship]," and both scholarships attracted roughly 500 to 600 applicants. As part of the celebrations for the 50th Anniversary of the Marshall Scholarships in 2003, a Marshall Medal was awarded to distinguished Americans in recognition of their contributions to UK-US relations, including Stephen Breyer (1959 Marshall Scholar), Ray Dolby (1957 Marshall Scholar), Thomas L. Friedman (1975 Marshall Scholar) and Nannerl Keohane (1961 Marshall Scholar). The number of scholars increased to thirty in 1973, forty in 1991, and 44 between 2004–2007. In 2010,
4200-456: The late 19th century, Harvard University's graduate schools began admitting women in small numbers. In 1900, Harvard became a founding member of the Association of American Universities . For the first few decades of the 20th century, the Harvard student body was predominantly "old-stock, high-status Protestants , especially Episcopalians , Congregationalists , and Presbyterians ," according to sociologist and author Jerome Karabel . Over
4275-441: The main campus in Cambridge are the Law , Divinity (theology), Engineering and Applied Science , Design (architecture), Education , Kennedy (public policy), and Extension schools, and Harvard Radcliffe Institute in Radcliffe Yard. Harvard also has commercial real estate holdings in Cambridge. Harvard Business School , Harvard Innovation Labs , and many athletics facilities, including Harvard Stadium , are located on
4350-412: The main campus, a 209-acre (85 ha) in Cambridge centered on Harvard Yard ; an adjoining campus immediately across Charles River in the Allston neighborhood of Boston ; and the medical campus in Boston's Longwood Medical Area . Harvard's endowment , valued at $ 50.7 billion , makes it the wealthiest academic institution in the world. Harvard Library , with more than 20 million volumes,
4425-457: The number of scholars from 12 to 24, British politician Philip Noel-Baker argued that "Marshall, more than perhaps any other man, destroyed isolation in the United States and built up the conception that only collective security through international institutions can save the world…I think the world has never seen an act of greater national generosity than Marshall aid and the other aid which the United States has given to other continents throughout
4500-476: The performance of its endowment; a poor performance in fiscal year 2016 forced a 4.4% cut in the number of graduate students funded by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences . Endowment income is critical, as only 22% of revenue is from students' tuition, fees, room, and board. Since the 1970s, several student-led campaigns have advocated divesting Harvard's endowment from controversial holdings, including investments in South Africa during apartheid , Sudan during
4575-432: The pressure. Harvard is a large, highly residential research university offering 50 undergraduate majors, 134 graduate degrees, and 32 professional degrees. During the 2018–2019 academic year, Harvard granted 1,665 baccalaureate degrees, 1,013 graduate degrees, and 5,695 professional degrees. Harvard College , the four-year, full-time undergraduate program, has a liberal arts and sciences focus. To graduate in
SECTION 60
#17328690986514650-506: The selectors will look for a distinction of intellect and character as evidenced both by their scholastic attainments and by their other activities and achievements. Preference will be given to candidates who display the potential to make a significant contribution to their own society. Selectors will also look for strong motivation and seriousness of purpose, including the presentation of a specific and realistic academic programme. Between 900 and 1000 students are typically endorsed to apply for
4725-423: The surrounding Harvard Square neighborhood. The Yard houses several Harvard buildings, including four of the university's libraries, Houghton , Lamont , Pusey , and Widener . Also on Harvard Yard are Massachusetts Hall , built between 1718 and 1720 and the university's oldest still standing building, Memorial Church , and University Hall Harvard Yard and adjacent areas include the main academic buildings of
4800-406: The tenets of Puritanism. In 1650, the charter for Harvard Corporation , the college's governing body, was granted. From 1681 to 1701, Increase Mather , a Puritan clergyman, served as Harvard's sixth president . In 1708, John Leverett became Harvard's seventh president and the first president who was not also a clergyman. Harvard faculty and students largely supported the Patriot cause during
4875-447: The top universities in the world in each of these categories. Harvard students and alumni have also collectively won 10 Academy Awards and 110 Olympic medals , including 46 gold. Harvard was founded in 1636 during the colonial , pre- Revolutionary era by vote of the Great and General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony , one of the original Thirteen Colonies of British America . Its first headmaster, Nathaniel Eaton , took office
4950-498: The undergraduate college became accessible to striving middle class students from public schools; many more Jews and Catholics were admitted, but still few Blacks, Hispanics, or Asians versus the representation of these groups in the general U.S. population. Over the second half of the 20th century, however, the university became incrementally more diverse. Between 1971 and 1999, Harvard controlled undergraduate admission, instruction, and housing for Radcliffe's women; in 1999, Radcliffe
5025-430: The university through the Great Depression and World War II , and liberalized admissions after the war. The university has ten academic faculties and a faculty attached to Harvard Radcliffe Institute . The Faculty of Arts and Sciences offers study in a wide range of undergraduate and graduate academic disciplines , and other faculties offer graduate degrees, including professional degrees. Harvard has three campuses:
5100-400: The university's freshman dormitories , writing that, "We owe to the colored man the same opportunities for education that we do to the white man, but we do not owe to him to force him and the white into social relations that are not, or may not be, mutually congenial." Between 1933 and 1953, Harvard University was led by James B. Conant , the university's 23rd president, who reinvigorated
5175-428: The university's creative scholarship in an effort to guarantee Harvard's preeminence among the nation and world's emerging research institutions. Conant viewed higher education as a vehicle of opportunity for the talented rather than an entitlement for the wealthy, and devised programs to identify, recruit, and support talented youth. In 1945, under Conant's leadership, an influential 268-page report, General Education in
5250-531: The university's first professor for these language programs. From 1869 to 1909, Charles William Eliot , Harvard University's 21st president, decreased the historically favored position of Christianity in the curriculum, opening it to student self-direction. Though Eliot was an influential figure in the secularization of U.S. higher education, he was motivated primarily by Transcendentalist and Unitarian convictions influenced by William Ellery Channing , Ralph Waldo Emerson , and others, rather than secularism. In
5325-443: The usual four years, undergraduates normally take four courses per semester. In most majors, an honors degree requires advanced coursework and a senior thesis. Though some introductory courses have large enrollments, the median class size is 12 students. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences , with an academic staff of 1,211 as of 2019, is the largest Harvard faculty, and has primary responsibility for instruction in Harvard College ,
5400-572: Was announced by British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden on 31 July 1952, and were enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom with the Marshall Aid Commemoration Act 1953 . The act's passage was backed by "leaders of all political hues," with British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin describing the scholarship's establishment as "a great opportunity for Europe." While the authors of the proposal initially considered partnering with
5475-460: Was appointed interim president. In August 2024, the university announced that Garber would be appointed Harvard's 31st president through the end of the 2026–27 academic year. The 209-acre (85 ha) main campus of Harvard University is centered on Harvard Yard , colloquially known as "the Yard," in Cambridge, Massachusetts , about 3 miles (5 km) west-northwest of downtown Boston , and extending to
5550-510: Was common for new scholars to travel together to the UK on an ocean liner , but now scholars are usually flown together to London from Washington, D.C. following a welcome program with top United Kingdom and United States government and diplomatic officials. In a letter to the first class of Marshall Scholars, George Marshall echoed his own words in initially presenting his ideas for European recovery by saying, "A close accord between our two countries
5625-454: Was formally merged into Harvard University. On July 1, 2007, Drew Gilpin Faust , dean of Harvard Radcliffe Institute , was appointed Harvard's 28th and the university's first female president. On July 1, 2018, Faust retired and joined the board of Goldman Sachs , and Lawrence Bacow became Harvard's 29th president . In February 2023, approximately 6,000 Harvard workers attempted to organize
#650349