The Council for Academic Freedom catalyzed a broad re-examination of assumptions dominating campus culture for over a decade. Among them was whether Harvard University administration should adopt institutional neutrality. On Monday, April 8, 2024, James Bryant Conant University Professor Danielle Allen, and Harvard Medical School Professor of Psychobiology, Bertha Madras, came together to share their…
Harvard College and PEN America Intellectual Vitality and Free Expression Staff Summit
On January 24, 2024, as part of the Intellectual Vitality Initiatives, Harvard College welcomed guest speakers from PEN America for a special professional development event for College staff and administrators. The day-long summit comprised of three workshops that aimed to help equip participants with the knowledge, skills, and insights needed to navigate issues related to…
Books Open, Gates Unbarred: Violence and Nonviolence by the Numbers
On Thursday, February 22, 2024, Harvard College Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology Steven Pinker, and Harvard Kennedy School Frank Stanton Professor of the First Amendment (and Pforzheimer House Faculty Dean), Erica Chenoweth kicked off the first of the Books Open, Gates Unbarred dinner and dialogue series with the conversation on War: Violence and Nonviolence By…
Harvard College and PEN America Intellectual Vitality and Free Expression Student Summit
On January 18-19, 2024, Harvard College and PEN America convened a group of student leaders from Harvard College and other Boston area, Ivy, and Ivy+ schools for our first-ever Intellectual Vitality and Free Expression Student Summit. As part of a commitment to open discourse on and off campus, the event aimed to foster discussions and…
Books Open, Gates Unbarred
Launching in Spring 2024, “Books Open, Gates Unbarred”, is a dinner and dialogue series so named as an allusion to the poem Seamus Heaney wrote for Harvard’s 350th anniversary. The series will consist of monthly dinners at the Faculty Club, where students will gather to hear two faculty discuss an issue of current concern and…
Intellectual Vitality Dinner Discussion with Dean of Students Tom Dunne
On Wednesday, February 7, 2024, students, administrators, and faculty involved with Intellectual Vitality were invited for dinner and dialogue at the home of Dean of Students, Tom Dunne. The focus of the dinner was to discuss the growth of Intellectual Vitality, through engaging in dialogue regarding future plans, and to gather input on how and…
Reflections and Looking Ahead
Dear Harvard College Students, I am writing today to share my heartfelt congratulations to you for reaching the end of the academic year. As we mark the end of the semester, I want to tell you about some conversations that I have had this spring with a group of students and faculty members about the…