By Any Other Name

Ever aspire to be the next Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Byzantine Philology and Literature?

In return for dropping millions of dollars to endow a professorship, donors can forever have their names associated with the esoteric study of their choice.

FM delved into concentration handbooks to find the top three wordiest titles in Harvard’s academy (word-count in parentheses).



1. Katharine Park: Samuel Zemurray, Jr. and Doris Zemurray Stone Radcliffe Professor of the History of Science (14)



2. Johan L. Blussé: Erasmus Lecturer on the History and Civilization of the Netherlands and Flanders (12)



3. Venkatesh “Venky” Narayanamurti: John A. and Elizabeth S. Armstrong Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences (12) (Narayanamurti’s full title actually weighs in at a whopping 30 words: “John A. and Elizabeth S. Armstrong Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Professor of Physics, Dean of the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Dean for the Physical Sciences”)