The Filene Research Institute is an American credit union and consumer finance think tank headquartered in Madison , Wisconsin .
85-473: Founded in 1989, the institute is named for Edward Filene , a Boston , Massachusetts -based businessman and philanthropist who was instrumental in the creation of credit unions in the U.S. In 1993, the institute published a research report on the evolution of credit union field of membership, helping to lay the groundwork for H.R 1151, the Credit Union Membership Access Act . In 2003,
170-410: A Bulletin and books to inform the public before World War II. His other major concern was mass production. He argued that higher wages and shorter hours for workers would enable them to buy materials they could not otherwise afford. He wrote several books on the subject and proposed that mass production, mass distribution and worker purchasing power were the answer to economic depression. He admired
255-613: A profit sharing program, a minimum wage for women, a 40-hour work week, health clinics and paid vacations. He also played an important role in encouraging the Filene Cooperative Association, "perhaps the earliest American company union". Through this channel he engaged constructively with his employees in collective bargaining and arbitration processes. In 1907 Filene traveled around the world, and by February reached Calcutta , India . There, he visited some rural cooperative banks that had been promoted and funded by
340-675: 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
425-735: 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,
510-548: 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 ,
595-401: A champion of popular rights. He was a prophet who perceived the true meaning of these changing times. He was an analyst who was able, by mathematical calculations, to make plain to us that our modern mechanism of abundance cannot be kept in operation unless the masses of our people are enabled to live abundantly. His democracy was, therefore, more than a tradition. His liberalism was more than
680-403: A formula. His faith was more than a mere assent to principles which have proved to be tried and true. He did not repudiate the past, after the fashion of some reformers, nor did he repudiate the future after the fashion of those who fear reform. He believed in learning and searching out the ways of human progress. Roy Bergengren conducted a series of memorial meetings for credit unionists around
765-472: A founder of the Boston, American and international chambers of commerce. Filene believed in the intrinsic capability of ordinary people to improve their own condition, given "good information and the discipline to use it effectively." This faith led not only to his involvement with credit unions, but to a wider interest in research into critical social and economic trends. This research, if clearly explained to
850-676: A heart attack. In 1936, Steffens died with the book incomplete. In 1937, Cantwell gave the manuscript to Filene–and Filene died. The book went unpublished. In 1944, the Liberty ship SS Edward A. Filene was built for the U.S. Maritime Commission by St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company in Jacksonville , Florida. Laid down on February 9, the ship was launched on April 6 in a christening ceremony sponsored by Catherine Filene Shouse that many in Florida's credit union business attended. In 1966,
935-576: A national federation funded by the nation's credit unions, was formed to replace the Bureau. The role of philanthropy in creating the US credit union system was over. The founding by-laws of CUNA recognized Filene's contributions with the following words: In grateful recognition of the fact that Edward A. Filene is the Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen of America – that he first brought cooperative credit to
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#17328454582451020-422: A small community pattern but in which all Americans are more or less dependent upon what all other Americans are doing. An important initiative was the "Boston-1915", a multi-sector, private-public sector partnership that organized leaders and committees to take leadership roles in solving key urban problems, including slums, public health, crime and local governance . Filene was for world peace ; he joined
1105-572: 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
1190-527: Is a grantee of the Center for Financial Services Innovation . The institute has also been supported by the Ford Foundation and Visa to conduct research on financial services for households of color, including Latino/a and immigrant households. Edward Filene Edward Albert Filene (September 3, 1860 – September 26, 1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist . He is best known for building
1275-477: 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
1360-516: 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,
1445-523: 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
1530-730: The Chicago River and the Merchandise Mart in downtown Chicago, Illinois. The first credit union to be named after Filene outside the United States was Filene Credit Union in Broad Cove, Nova Scotia in December 1932. In 1931, Lincoln Steffens agreed to write a biography of Filene. He asked Whittaker Chambers to help him write it; when Chambers declined, he turned to Robert Cantwell . In December 1931, Cantwell accepted–and Steffens had
1615-490: 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
1700-452: 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
1785-570: The Filene's department store chain and for his decisive role in pioneering credit unions across the United States. Born in Salem, Massachusetts , Edward was one of five children of William Filene (born May 8, 1830) and Clara Ballin (born December 13, 1833). Both his parents were German Jewish immigrants, his father from Posen , Prussia , and his mother was born in Segnitz , Bavaria . William immigrated to
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#17328454582451870-591: 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
1955-533: The Great Depression set in the Reconstruction Finance Corporation under President Hoover sought to stimulate the economy with soft loans targeted to banks, railways and large companies. Filene favoured asking for $ 100 million in reconstruction credits to be pumped into credit unions. Bergengren strongly opposed this position, and his view prevailed this time. "To him, it meant destroying
2040-631: 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
2125-677: 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
2210-550: The League to Enforce Peace founded 1915 in New York after World War I had broken out, and he supported the League of Nations after the war. Filene corresponded with a wide range of leaders from Woodrow Wilson and Georges Clemenceau to Mahatma Gandhi and Vladimir Lenin . During the 1930s, Filene was concerned about the growing threat of the Axis powers on the international front, and
2295-646: 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
2380-787: 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
2465-582: The scientific management ideas of Frederick Winslow Taylor and adapted these ideas for use in the retail environment. While Taylor is best known for the use of scientific methods to increase workplace efficiency, he was also interested in how to improve the quality of work for employees. Filene is credited with refining a number of under-utilized and in some cases novel retailing techniques. For example, Filene's Department Store offered complete and honest descriptions of its merchandise and offered to give customers their "money back if not satisfied". Edward Filene
2550-465: The "Brüsselsche Handels und Erziehungsinstitut", a boarding school known for excellence in instruction and discipline in her Franconian hometown Segnitz-am-Main . The headmaster at that time, Samuel Spier , was one of the founding fathers of the early German democracy movement and an outspoken atheist ; one of Edwards schoolmates was a certain Ettore Schmitz from Trieste who later became famous as
2635-521: 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
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2720-413: 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
2805-542: The British colonial government. On his return, he contacted his associate Franklin D. Roosevelt and suggested that a similar type of organization be promoted by the US government in the Philippines. He realized that credit unions could help ordinary American workers to access loans at reasonable rates. Equally important, workers could save their money so that when hard times hit, they were prepared. Subsequent to this trip
2890-930: 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
2975-647: The Extension Bureau should attempt to secure federal legislation first, rather than work state by state. Filene maintained that a national law should be based on a sound understanding of the diverse circumstances of people across America—from shrimp fishermen in Louisiana, to factory workers in Massachusetts or farmers in the mid-West. Only by developing many state laws first would such a sound national understanding be possible. He prevailed in this debate. Second, as
3060-694: 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
3145-515: The Italian writer Italo Svevo . Most of the pupils in Segnitz were the sons of German and Austrian Jewish entrepreneurs or merchants like, for instance, Edwards classmate Richard Fluss, a childhood friend of Sigmund Freud . But there were also some Christian schoolmates. The boys remained at the school until 1875, and it was a period of intense loneliness and homesickness for him as a young teenager. Filene
3230-657: The US in 1848 after abandoning law school in Berlin. It was some time in the 1850s that William and Clara met while Clara was visiting relatives in Hartford, Connecticut. They married in New York City. As "a peddler, chiefly of women's apparel" William built up a company composed of several small retail shops. In 1865, at the age of 5, Edward was injured in a fall that left him with a permanent limp. Eczema plagued him throughout his life. In 1872, Clara Filene enrolled her three boys in
3315-535: The United States – that he created in 1921 and financed from 1921 to 1934 the Credit Union National Extension Bureau in order that there might be a sustained development of cooperative credit in our country – in free acknowledgement of the unique debt which we and succeeding generations of credit union members owe and will always owe him – we make a part of these our By-laws, not subject at any time to amendment, this acknowledgement – and we create
3400-505: 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
3485-574: 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
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3570-503: The country. The Board of Directors of Credit Union National Association and CUNA Mutual Insurance Company voted to raise funds to build a memorial to their founder. Filene House in Madison, Wisconsin was the result. President Harry S. Truman dedicated the building in May 1950. Filene is considered the father of the U.S. credit union movement, which by the end of 2008, with 89 million members, had
3655-499: The decommissioned ship was sunk at Cook Inlet , Alaska , to be used as a breakwater and dock. 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, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard , it is the oldest institution of higher learning in
3740-409: 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
3825-455: 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
3910-507: 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
3995-662: The institute established the Cooperative Trust program and community to support credit union young professionals. In 2017, the Cooperative Trust was awarded the Herb Wegner Memorial Outstanding Program Award by the National Credit Union Foundation The institute engages several prominent academic researchers , including: In early 2012, it partnered with Saveup ; a company which rewards fiscal responsibility. The institute
4080-627: The institute started the REAL Solutions project to study financial services for low-income households and address predatory lending and other fringe financial services. The project became a program of the National Credit Union Foundation in 2007. In 2004, the institute launched an innovation training program called i3 (for "Ideas, Innovation, Implementation"), which brings together credit union executives to identify new solutions and business models in financial services. In 2010,
4165-478: The key organizer he needed. Together with Bergengren he founded the Credit Union National Extension Bureau. In 1921, Edward A. Filene formed a savings and loan association for employees which later became the Filene Federal Credit Union of Boston, then merged with Webster First Federal Credit Union. Filene seems to have been responsible, with the collaboration of Pierre Jay, for the adoption of
4250-552: 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
4335-434: The largest membership of any country and one of the highest levels of market penetration in the world. A credit union think tank and research organization, the Filene Research Institute , is named in his honor. A building of the Hillman Housing Corporation , a housing cooperative in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, is named after him. Bronze busts honoring Filene and seven other industry magnates stand outside between
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#17328454582454420-456: 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
4505-414: The laws needed for credit union development in the various states, subsequently, to organize some credit unions in each state that could serve as examples to others, to expand the number of credit unions to the point that they could create self-sustaining state federations, and to combine the federations into a self-sustaining national association. Filene hired Roy Bergengren , and their collaboration and
4590-441: 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
4675-412: 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,
4760-480: The methods of Henry Ford in the auto industry. In 1935, at the age of 75, he made a visit to Moscow and was stricken with pneumonia. His assistant, Lillian Schoedler was able to get him the best of care and he did recover. In 1937, however, he made another trip to Europe to attend the International Chamber of Commerce meeting in Paris. He again contracted pneumonia and died in the American Hospital of Paris in Neuilly-sur-Seine on September 26, 1937. His death
4845-435: The need to prevent another Great Depression on the home front. He was appalled by the growing strength of the Fascist movement and worried about the growing anti-Semitism in Europe. He gave many speeches on the subject and wrote against the growing anti-Semitism in the United States. To counter the influence of propaganda , Filene provided the seed money in 1937 for the Institute for Propaganda Analysis , which published
4930-446: The office of Founder of this Association and name Edward A. Filene to that office for life. Thereafter said office shall be abolished. Filene's lifestyle and motivation for his philanthropic work was described by Bergengren, who knew him for much of his adult life. He had a great distaste for material things, lived very modestly, never owned an automobile and was scrupulously careful about small expenditures, all because he felt that he
5015-476: 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
5100-526: The philanthropy he practiced, combined with the steady implementation efforts of his associate Roy Bergengren were critical to the emergence of credit unions in the United States. He also donated $ 1 million to the Consumers Distribution Corporation to help them organize a national network of cooperative retail stores. In 1908, Filene and Massachusetts banking commissioner Pierre Jay , helped organize public hearings on creating credit union legislation in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Credit Union Act of 1909
5185-432: 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
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#17328454582455270-510: The problems they faced. Edward had passed his entrance exams for Harvard University when in 1890 his father became seriously ill. Thirty years old at that time, Edward gave up his educational ambitions to take over the family business. One of his great disappointments in his life was being unable to attend Harvard. Together with his younger brother Abraham Lincoln Filene , he reorganized his father's department store into "William Filene's Sons Company", which would later become Filene's . Though
5355-463: The public, would advance the causes of both democracy and peace. These views led him to found the Twentieth Century Fund in 1919, since renamed The Century Foundation . Living in the era of Henry Ford , Filene believed that the problems of mass production had essentially been solved. But he feared that production by itself would not ensure prosperity; if ordinary workers could not afford to continue financing this expansion with their purchasing power,
5440-410: The result would be either reduced production or worse, increased social inequality leading to violence or dictatorship. He saw credit unions as an important part of the answer. In a speech in California in 1936 he summed up his view: What is needed is that the American masses shall learn the art of constructive self-government in this machine age – in this age in which life is no longer organized on
5525-572: The store did not make a profit for many years, it attracted more customers, and eventually turned a profit, even supporting the main store of Filene's during the Great Depression. By 1928 Edward was ousted from store management by his fellow stockholders who were "troubled by his liberal management policies", but retained an office and the title of President. His ouster allowed him to dedicate more time to his passions of travel, civic organizations, and philanthropy. He wrote numerous speeches, pamphlets and several books. Edward Filene drew inspiration from
5610-423: 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
5695-406: 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
5780-406: The term "credit union" in the United States. His concern with fighting loan sharks and excessively costly consumer loans led to the choice of the word "credit", while his interest in working people made him want to cast unions in a more positive light. In 1921, Filene founded the Extension Bureau, to which he donated nearly $ 1 million during its 14-year history. It had four goals: to bring about
5865-447: 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
5950-498: 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
6035-430: 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:
6120-400: 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
6205-428: 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
6290-531: 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
6375-500: 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 ,
6460-499: The vital principle of the whole movement by converting a community enterprise into an agency of the government. To teach people how to help themselves was more important by far in times of depression than at any other time." With the work of the Bureau essentially completed, a national meeting of credit union leaders was called at Estes Park , Colorado . On August 11, 1934, the Credit Union National Association ,
6545-703: The work of the Extension Bureau proved very effective, bringing state laws to fruition in 26 states and substantially revised flawed legal frameworks in 5 others. In 1934 the Roosevelt Administration passed the Federal Credit Union Act , making it possible to form a credit union anywhere in the United States. The Extension Bureau has been a model for many projects related to international development and microfinance since. Foreshadowing debates that still rage, Filene's and Bergengren's views diverged on two key issues: First, Bergengren believed that
6630-409: Was a proponent of the scientific approach to retail management. In 1909, he introduced the "bargain basement" principle. Under this plan, merchandise had to be sold within 30 days or it was marked down; after a further 12 days, the merchandise was further reduced by 25% and if still unsold after another 18 days, a further markdown of 25% was applied. If the merchandise remained unsold after two months, it
6715-401: Was a trustee for the money that he had earned and that the trustee-ship involved turning his accumulations into the greatest possible disinterested public service. Several writers mention the fact that Filene never married may be why "his family in a very real sense became society as a whole." Filene "played a pivotal role in passing America's first Workmen's Compensation Law in 1911" and was
6800-460: 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
6885-454: 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
6970-442: Was given to charity. Although Filene's Basement was not the first 'bargain basement' in the U.S., the principles of 'automatic mark-downs' generated excitement and proved very profitable. Filene personally supervised construction of the first basement in Boston. An advocate of consumer education, he introduced color matching tools in the clothing departments of his stores. Filene was a pioneer in employee relations. He instituted
7055-413: Was reported on the front page of every major newspaper in the world. A man who thought of himself as a "seller of pins" would have been honored indeed by the tribute paid to him by President Franklin D. Roosevelt when he heard of Filene's death Roosevelt wrote: It is not individual persons but the people as a whole who were closest to the heart of this unique personality. Mr. Filene was, however, more than
7140-491: Was shy as a youth, and never married. Upon his return to the US, Edward attended high school in Lynn, Massachusetts , and worked in his father's store evenings, weekends, and summers. In 1881, when Edward was 21 years old, his father William founded a department store in Boston. Edward began traveling in the 1880s, purchasing merchandise, studying business practices, and increasingly examining how different societies were organized and
7225-548: Was the first comprehensive credit union law in the United States, and would serve as a model for the Federal Credit Union Act of 1934. Inspired by the experience in many European countries where credit unions were called "people's banks", Filene organized the National Association of Peoples Banks to advance the credit union cause in the US. However, little came of this until 1921, when Filene observed in Roy Bergengren
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