Front Feature
Harvard’s Endowment Soars to $53.2 Billion, Reports 33.6% Returns
Harvard Management Company returned 33.6 percent on its investments for the fiscal year ending in June 2021, skyrocketing the value of the University’s endowment to $53.2 billion, the largest sum in its history.
Graduate Students Union Sets Oct. 27 Negotiation Deadline, Plans Three-Day Strike
On Wednesday, the Harvard Graduate Students Union-United Automobile Workers threatened a three-day strike beginning Oct. 27 if the University does not move closer to the union’s demands.
In Massive Security Oversight, Thousands of Private University Documents Left Vulnerable
A widespread security oversight left at least tens of thousands of Harvard’s administrative files — including sensitive and confidential information on University governance — available for anyone with Harvard credentials to view, edit, download, and share.
Harvard Corporation Members Donated Big to Democrats in 2020 Elections
More than 100 candidates running for federal office in 2020 benefited from the financial support of members of the Harvard Corporation — the University’s highest governing body, which includes some of the country’s top finance executives, academics, and corporate lawyers.
Harvard Native American Program Director Picked to Chair National Endowment for the Humanities
President Joe Biden nominated Harvard University Native American Program Executive Director Shelly C. Lowe to serve as the 12th chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities on Tuesday.
‘Just Not Fair’: As Allston’s Housing Costs Rise, Residents Turn to Harvard for Answers
Dominated by stockyards and rail lines before 1900, the 20th century transformed Allston: waves of immigration made it one of Boston’s most diverse neighborhoods, filled with single- and multi-family homes.
Fourteen Senior Class Marshals Selected for Class of 2022
Fourteen seniors were announced on Sept. 24 as senior class marshals for the Class of 2022.
Harvard Saw Decrease in Total Crimes and Sexual Assaults, Increase in Burglaries During 2020
The total number of reported crimes in 2020 was 178, down from the 220 total crimes reported in 2019. On-campus crimes also saw a 14 percent decrease in 2020 — when college students were sent home in March, and only freshmen were invited to live back on campus in the fall.
Roughly 92% of Voters Authorize Grad Student Union Strike
Harvard’s graduate student union voted overwhelmingly to authorize what would be its second strike in two years, union officials announced late Thursday.
Employees at Local Coffee Shops Forge Ahead With Unionization Efforts
Harvard Square coffee chains Pavement Coffeehouse and Darwin’s Ltd. have moved to unionize in recent months as the stores seek to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Khurana Says College Committed to Maintaining In-Person Instruction, Residential Life
Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana said safely maintaining in-person instruction and dining are the College’s top priorities this semester in a Wednesday interview.
Harvard Kennedy School Professor Marcella Alsan Wins MacArthur Grant
Marcella M. Alsan is the Kennedy School’s first female MacArthur Fellow and the sole Harvard faculty member among this year’s 25 recipients.
‘We Are a Complete Outlier’: HBS Moves Some Classes Online Amid Covid-19 Outbreak
In an email to all MBA students on Thursday, four HBS administrators wrote that the school has counted 121 cases among MBA students since July 1, with close to 60 students in isolation that day. First-year students made up roughly 75 percent of those positive cases.
‘An Uphill Climb’: Square Businesses Grapple with Staffing Shortages
Amid a national shortage in restaurant workers, Harvard Square businesses have been inundated with customers, causing stores to reduce their hours and discontinue online ordering as lines stretch out of their doors.
Bee Club Buzzes into Former Café Pamplona Location
The all-female Bee Club has its own clubhouse once again, thanks to a $2.2 million purchase of the building that formerly housed Café Pamplona by the club’s president, a College junior.
Bacow Insists Harvard’s Move to End Fossil Fuel Investments is ‘Consistent’ with Past Positions
When University President Lawrence S. Bacow said earlier this month that Harvard would move to end its investments in the fossil fuel industry, the activists who had been pushing him to do so for years celebrated the news as a seismic shift.
Bacow ‘Very Pleased’ By Response to Covid Guidelines on Campus
Despite an initial spike in cases on campus, Bacow said in an interview Tuesday he was “very pleased” with adherence to indoor mask requirements, noting the University has avoided any severe outbreaks.
Harvard Sues Insurer to Recoup Legal Fees After Admissions Lawsuit Exceeds $25 Million
After racking up more than $25 million in legal fees defending its admissions practices against anti-affirmative action group Students for Fair Admissions, Harvard filed suit against its excess insurance company Friday for allegedly refusing to cover legal fees in the ongoing SFFA case.
Penny Pritzker ’81 Donates $100 Million for New Economics Department Building
Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce and business leader Penny S. Pritzker ’81 donated $100 million to the Economics Department to support the construction of a new department building, Harvard announced Tuesday morning.
Undergrads Overwhelmingly Back Shopping Week Referendum, Elect 48 to Undergraduate Council
Harvard College students voted overwhelmingly in favor of a referendum on shopping week and elected 48 students to the Undergraduate Council with high voter turnout, the UC Election Commission announced Friday afternoon.
HUPD Arresting Black People at Disproportionate Rate, New Data Shows
The Harvard University Police Department has been arresting Black people at a disproportionate rate compared to the general population over the last three years, according to data from the department’s new workload and crime dashboard.
Celebrating Harvard’s Divestment Decision, Fossil Fuel Divest Organizers Lay Out Next Steps
Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard plans to encourage the University to invest in green economic initiatives after Harvard’s surprise announcement that it intends to divest from fossil fuels.
Students Weigh Return to Campus Social Life As Pandemic Rages On
While some students said they are eager to have the social life they envisioned before the pandemic’s onset, others are treading carefully, according to interviews with more than a dozen undergraduates.
Two Years, Two Votes: Harvard Student Workers Go to Polls in Strike Authorization Vote
For the second time in two years, members of Harvard’s graduate student union went to the polls Monday — both online and in-person — to decide whether to authorize their Bargaining Committee to call for a strike.
Committee to Vote on Proposal to Eliminate Spring 2022 Shopping Week
The Standing Committee on Undergraduate Educational Policy, an FAS panel overseeing the College curriculum, plans to vote Tuesday on a proposal to eliminate shopping week for the Spring 2022 semester.