Harvard Magazine

09/02/2026

In the sermon traditionally delivered by Harvard University presidents on the first day of classes each new academic year, President Alan M. Garber spoke about the unique qualities of human intelligence and learning, the accelerating impact of technological advances, and the purposes of the University.

“This moment of renewal is an opportune time to pause and consider the meaning of all that we undertake here,” Garber began, “powered, as ever, by human intelligence.”

Expanding on his remarks at the Convocation for first-years the day before, Garber said that he is convinced that advances in knowledge will take place more rapidly than ever before in human existence.

Read more: https://www.harvardmagazine.com/university-news/garber-morning-prayers-2026

📸: Photograph by Jonathan Shaw / Harvard Magazine

09/02/2026

On Tuesday afternoon, President Alan M. Garber and Harvard University leaders gathered in Sanders Theatre to officially welcome a fresh batch of undergraduates to campus.

“Today we embrace you as members of the University community,” Garber told the Class of 2030 during the first of two divided-up Convocation ceremonies, which were moved indoors from Tercentenary Theatre due to wet weather.

In his remarks, Garber called the work being done at Harvard every day “astonishing,” and asked the assembled students how “you, the newest members of our community, determine where you might fit into this vast constellation of excellence and ambitions?”

Due to rain, the University held dual Convocation ceremonies for the Class of 2030 in Sanders Theatre.

09/02/2026

What's the connection between fish evolution and gymnastics?

To Stephanie Pierce, curator of vertebrate paleontology at Harvard University’s Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ)—and a former junior championship vaulter in Canada—a gymnast flipping through the air shares the same basic structure as the ancient fish, evolved and specialized over time.

From competing in youth gymnastics to studying tetrapods, the Harvard curator has always chased her curiosity.

09/02/2026

We were so touched and honored to receive these photos of Mrs. Evelyn Whitman Houghton, A.B. 1937. Evelyn was born in 1915 in Swampscott, Massachusetts and studied at Radcliffe College.

She is currently one of the oldest living individuals in America (111 years old), and here she is with our September-October 2026 issue...which you can read free our site!

Thank you, Kathy Misk, for passing these photos to us ❤️

09/01/2026

"Democracy is not about everyone agreeing with each other at the end of the day." Abby Phillip '10 hosts one of cable news's most combustible roundtables—and somehow keeps it civil.

We go inside a taping of CNN's NewsNight to see how the Harvard University grad manages politics, religion, and s*x at the same table, every single weeknight.



https://bit.ly/46wUD2S

The Harvard graduate’s roundtable talk show touches on hot button issues from religion to s*x.

08/31/2026

In 1954, Beat poet Gregory Corso—fresh out of prison, working as a janitor—moved into a tent in an Eliot House sitting room and stayed the whole academic year.

How did an unenrolled, self-taught poet talk his way into Harvard University? The answer involves House master John Finley, a run-in with Boylston professor of rhetoric and oratory Archibald MacLeish (two-time Pulitzer winner), and an overnight writing assignment that changed Corso's life.

In 1954, Gregory Corso moved into Eliot House. How he stayed there is a literary legend.

08/31/2026

Introducing…episode one of Hidden Harvard Gems with Margaret-Ann Simonetta 💎! This episode features the Harvard Art Museums and a secret study spot that very few people know about...

Tucked on the back of Harvard Art Museums along Prescott Street, there’s a quiet, peaceful stone plaza with street views, tables for sitting and relaxing, and zero crowds. Free and open to the public, every day.

📍: Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St

🎥: Margaret-Ann Simonetta for Harvard Magazine

Know a spot we should feature next? Drop it below!

08/31/2026

Ever stumbled across an amazing seemingly unknown spot while visiting Harvard? These are hidden 💎s—and they’re part of what makes the almost 400-year-old campus so historically and architecturally fascinating.

Over the next few weeks, we’re teaming up with Margaret-Ann Simonetta '19 and '24 for her “Hidden Harvard Gems” video series to explore free, fun, mythically under-marketed hangout spots and historical nuggets from Harvard University's campus.

Got a favorite hidden gem? Drop it below👇 Stay tuned for the spots!

📸: Video by Megan Lam / Harvard Magazine; produced by Niko Yaitanes / Harvard Magazine

08/31/2026

"Is capitalism broken?" Jason Furman ’92 and Nick Hanauer both believe in the transformative power of capitalism. In a recent episode of Open To Debate, the Harvard Aetna professor of the practice of economic policy and the billionaire investor sparred energetically over whether that power is being wielded properly in the United States.

Read more and vote via Open to Debate through 9/4: https://www.harvardmagazine.com/harvard-kennedy-school-of-government/jason-furman-open-to-debate-capitalism

On Open to Debate, the Harvard economist defended free market competition—with meaningful government involvement.

08/28/2026

In 2012, Sonia Vallabh, J.D. ’11, Ph.D. ’19 learned she carried the genetic mutation for fatal familial insomnia: a deadly neurodegenerative prion disorder for which the only current treatment is palliative care.

She quit her law career, retrained as a scientist, and has spent over a decade racing to find a cure with her husband Eric Minikel, Ph.D. ’19. This spring, their new drug entered clinical trials.

The stakes are high for this husband and wife: one of them will die if they don’t find a cure.