Gold-tipped cane resting against the arm of his chair in Loeb House, Harvard Corporation’s Senior Fellow James R. Houghton ’58 is on his way out.

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences has devoted itself to establishing the young, dynamic, multicultural faculty of the future.

Harvard’s Chinese Language Program—built into one of the nation’s most preeminent by departing director Shengli Feng—will begin a search for a new director after receiving a rare authorization from the dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

During a discussion about whether the Registrar’s Office should require course leaders to opt into three-hour exams at the end of the semester—a motion that the Faculty ultimately passed—History Professor Charles S. Maier ’60 inadvertently admitted to giving students a take-home exam during exam period.

On the road toward recovery, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences has pared down its once-looming deficit to about $50 million, FAS Dean Michael D. Smith said yesterday. Setting a positive tone at the last Faculty meeting of the year, Smith announced that the budget deficit now stands between $50 to $55 million—a roughly $30 million reduction in the deficit since February.

Harvard faculty recently discussed its current stance against allowing Google Books to scan the University’s vast collection of copyrighted material.

The University Committee on Human Rights Studies, which was established a decade ago to unite various human rights efforts across the University, will dissolve on June 30, University Provost Steven E. Hyman announced Wednesday.

A novel administrative structure that streamlines staff workload by consolidating staff workers into a centralized body may expand next year to include more departments within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

The Library Implementation Group, charged this fall with making concrete changes to the University library system by the winter of 2010, will instead generate another, more specific round of proposals at the end of its one-year tenure.

We’ve seen it before. Scrawled on the wall of some grubby gas station restroom are the bubble letters in bright ...