Harvard’s Mittal Institute Helped Book a Nine-Day Hindu Recitation at Sanders. Then Its Own Faculty Revolted.

For nine days in August, roughly 1,000 people a day filled Sanders Theatre for a Hindu devotional recitation that Indian outlets hailed as a landmark moment for Harvard. Behind the scenes, the Mittal Institute had spent weeks trying to get Harvard's name off it.

Harvard Divinity School to Host Faith-Based Training on Substance Misuse Response

Harvard Divinity School will host its first Faith-Based Support Specialist Training Conference in June, partnering with the Agency for Substance Abuse Prevention to train religious leaders and public health workers to respond to substance misuse.

Harvard Divinity School Dean Announces Hindu, Muslim Ministry Initiatives During Asia Trip

Harvard Divinity School Dean Marla F. Frederick said the school is developing new Muslim and Hindu ministry initiatives during a visit to the Divinity School of Chung Chi College at The Chinese University of Hong Kong last month, as part of a broader push to expand ministerial training.

In Asia Trip, Harvard Divinity School Dean Marla Frederick Pitches Global Partnerships

Harvard Divinity School Dean Marla F. Frederick said the school hopes to deepen its ties to Asian institutions and expand student exchange opportunities during a visit to the Divinity School of Chung Chi College at The Chinese University of Hong Kong earlier this month.

HDS Weighs New Clinical Pastoral Education Program as Hospital Placements Decline

The Harvard Divinity School is considering launching its own Clinical Pastoral Education program after hospital budget cuts sharply reduced training opportunities important for students pursuing chaplaincy.

Swartz Hall

Several Graduate Schools Move Instruction and Staff Remote Monday Due to Winter Storm

Several Harvard graduate schools announced they will shift all classes, events, and staff operations to a virtual format on Monday as a major winter storm is expected to bring heavy snowfall to the Greater Boston area.

Pew Research Center Notes Global Decline in Religiosity at Harvard Divinity School Talk

The associate director of the Pew Research Center discussed the global decline in religion at Harvard Divinity School on Monday.

HDS Adopts New Mission Statement After Yearlong Strategic Planning Process

Harvard Divinity School began operating under a new mission statement last month for the first time since 2008 — the only concrete change immediately resulting from a yearlong strategic planning process that took place as the school warned of rising pressure on its budget.

Author Erik Davis Discusses Role of ‘Psychedelic Jesus’ in Christian Movements at Harvard Divinity School Talk

Author Erik Davis scrutinized the current state of “spiritual warfare” between new, evolving sects of Christianity and the pervasiveness of the “Psychedelic Jesus” figure at a Harvard Divinity School talk on Monday.

Harvard Hires New Faculty in Jewish Studies

Harvard is on track to add three tenured professors to its ranks in Jewish Studies to address a series of retirements and faculty vacancies that threatened the program’s future.

HDS Theologian Francis Schüssler Fiorenza Remembered for Intellect, Dedication to Social Justice

Francis Schüssler Fiorenza, a leading Roman Catholic theologian who taught at Harvard for nearly four decades, died in July at the age of 84.

A Divinity School Program Became a Political Liability. In One Semester, Harvard Took It Apart.

When the Religion and Public Life program was swept up in raging debates over the Israel-Palestine conflict on campus, Harvard replaced its leader, pushed out its staff, and promised an overhaul.

Judge Dismisses Assault Charges Against Harvard Grad Students Involved in Clash at Oct. 2023 Protest

A Boston Municipal Court judge on Friday dismissed the assault and battery charges in a case against two Harvard graduate students who were charged following an altercation at a pro-Palestine protest last year.

Harvard Grad Schools Rebrand Diversity Offices as University Wipes DEI Messaging

Several Harvard graduate schools began shuttering their diversity, equity, and inclusion offices over the past two weeks, continuing the University’s effort to replace DEI programs that the Trump administration has broadly painted as illegal.

Harvard’s 2025 Class Days

At Convocation and Class Day ceremonies last week, Harvard’s Class of 2025 gathered to celebrate their new degrees. But the Trump administration’s attacks on Harvard cast a shadow over the proceedings — and graduates, faculty, and keynote speakers across Harvard’s schools paired their messages of joy with defiance.

‘Pluralism in Action’: Divinity School Celebrates Graduates With Multireligious Service

The Harvard Divinity School celebrated its graduates on Wednesday with its annual multireligious service, emphasizing pluralism at a moment when Harvard has advertised a heightened commitment to dialogue across religious difference.

‘A Campaign of Anti-Palestinian Racism’: HDS Students, Alumni Decry Program Suspension

HDS Dean Marla Frederick announced on March 28 that the Religion, Conflict, and Public Life program would be paused, citing a budget cut and a desire to “rethink” the future of the program. But Frederick’s decision drew anger from some RCPI affiliates.

Kestenbaum Required to Hand Over Documents in Ongoing Lawsuit, Judge Rules

Harvard Divinity School graduate Alexander “Shabbos” Kestenbaum will have to hand over a series of documents related to his ongoing Title VI lawsuit against Harvard, after a judge approved the University’s request to compel the production of documents on Wednesday.

Harvard Opposes Plaintiffs’ Motion To Remain Unnamed in Kestenbaum Suit

Harvard filed its opposition in court on Friday to a motion to allow two plaintiffs to proceed pseudonymously as they seek to join Harvard Divinity School graduate Alexander “Shabbos” Kestenbaum’s ongoing Title VI lawsuit against the University.

Harvard Divinity School Suspends Religion, Conflict, and Peace Initiative

Harvard Divinity School will suspend its Religion, Conflict, and Peace Initiative amid budget cuts at HDS and public accusations that the initiative’s programming presents a one-sided view of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Kestenbaum Files Opposition to Harvard’s Request for Documents

Harvard Divinity School graduate Alexander “Shabbos” Kestenbaum, the lead plaintiff in an ongoing Title VI lawsuit against Harvard, filed opposition to Harvard’s motion to compel him to produce documents relating to the case, claiming Harvard’s argument is “baseless.”

‘When I Change, the World Will Change’: Visiting Hindu Monastics Discuss Self-Transformation at HDS Event

Hindu monastics Brahmacharini Durga and Sudarshan Sundar discussed their personal paths into Hindu monasticism at a Harvard Divinity School event Monday, highlighting the spiritually transformative nature of the practice.

Summers Accuses Harvard Corporation, Garber of Inaction Against Antisemitism

Summers’ thread was an extraordinary broadside against Harvard — not just a rebuke of the University’s sitting leadership by a former president, but also a wide-ranging attack against individual instructors, academic programming, and professional schools that Summers termed “redoubts of the far left.”

Leaders of Harvard Divinity School’s Religion and Public Life Program To Depart Abruptly

The associate dean of the Religion and Public Life program at the Harvard Divinity School departed suddenly in January, creating turnover at the top of an initiative that became a lightning rod for controversy in fall 2023.