Fostering a Community
of Learning
Through intellectual vitality, the Harvard College community seeks to establish a culture in which all members speak, listen, and ask questions of each other – and ourselves – with curiosity and respect. This is critical to achieve the mission of Harvard College and what we as a community believe in.
Background Video of South asian countries and their people
Upholding a Shared Commitment to Intellectual Growth
We are all committed to upholding intellectual vitality at Harvard College. In our roles, we will foster a spirit of rigor, charity, and open exploration. This includes promoting thoughtful discussion and consideration of different perspectives in classrooms, student groups. and social settings.
“[Intellectual vitality] is also a matter of what do we owe to one another? What do we expect of one another? Are we assuming someone’s best intentions?”
Ari Kohn ’26
Learn more about Intellectual Vitality
If you’re interested in learning more about intellectual vitality, or having intellectual vitality embedded into your student group, organization, or department, please reach out to Camila Nardozzi at cnardozzi@fas.harvard.edu . For pedagogical support, or other academically focused questions, please reach out to Matthew Sohm at msohm@fas.harvard.edu.
In the News
- Intellectual Vitality Really Is Vital. Here’s How To Do It Right.
- Harvard Is Doing Discourse Wrong
- How Intellectual Vitality Became Vital to Harvard
Contact
Matthew Sohm
Assistant Director of Pedagogy