News

Carpenter Center show reflects racial disparities that helped fuel James Baldwin’s writing

November 26, 2018

James Baldwin’s 1964 essay “Nothing Personal” critiqued a country divided by suspicion, greed, hatred, fear, violence, oppression, and racism. But it also acknowledged the light in humanity. More than 50 years later, it remains relevant and fresh.

Now through Dec. 30 at Harvard’s Carpenter Center for Visual Arts, a series of photos shines a light on the America the author and social critic was responding to with his words, as well as on the present climate. “Time is Now:...

Harvard conference discusses the machinery to drive ed reform

November 21, 2018

Paul Reville knows that education reform must reach beyond the classroom to achieve its goals. For the Education Redesign Lab’s inaugural Leadership Institute symposium, to be held at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (GSE) Monday through Friday, the former Massachusetts Secretary of Education is bringing together mayors, school superintendents, and community leaders from 21 communities to discuss how to leverage government, nonprofits, and the private sector to battle key issues, such as income disparity, that can hold back students.

In...

‘Silence Is a Statement’ brings topic of race into the workplace

November 20, 2018

“Not talking about race actually increases the sense of bias somebody already has … studies show that ignoring race can exacerbate rather than alleviate issues of race in the workplace,” said Allison Manswell, author of “Listen In: Crucial Conversations on Race in the Workplace.”

Manswell, a certified professional in learning and performance (CPLP), delivered her remarks at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Diversity Dialogue titled “Silence Is a Statement: Understanding...

Harvard conference focuses on the ongoing tragedy of lead in life

November 20, 2018

The water crisis in Flint, Mich., has been a recent focal point, but the issue of lead pollution is both global and pervasive. As Thursday evening’s “Lead Summit at Harvard: Revolutionary Discoveries in Lead Pollution and Health Impacts” made clear, man-made sources of atmospheric lead not only reach back through the centuries, but they have increasingly deadly effects on some of our most vulnerable groups.

To tackle a problem that goes beyond medicine into social and economic realms, the summit at Boylston Hall took an interdisciplinary approach. Organized by the...

At Harvard Law, Sotomayor suggests judges cooperate more

November 14, 2018

U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor made an impassioned plea Tuesday afternoon for “serious thinking” among judges to find ways to come together more often, and to fight the effects of partisan polarization.

“For decades, the court has always managed to maintain the public’s respect, in large part because the public has perceived it as less partisan than other institutions,” Sotomayor said in a conversation with Andrew Crespo, assistant professor of law at Harvard Law School (HLS) before a room filled with law students.

“If we,...

Harvard Chan School panel looks at challenges for rural America

November 14, 2018

The opioid crisis competes with the economy as the most pressing issue in rural America, according to a new poll conducted by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Experts met at the Chan School on Friday to assess the poll’s implications and propose solutions in a panel discussion moderated by NPR correspondent Joe Neel.

Robert Blendon, professor of health policy and political analysis, described the results as both surprising and disturbing.

“If you’re in the polling world, you rarely ever hear people say that the biggest problem...

Presidential fellowship led 16 students into public service

November 13, 2018

From helping bring technical innovations in government agencies to working to address threats to natural resources, for sixteen Harvard students, this summer offered a hands-on opportunity to drive change and strengthen needed services in their broader communities.

Now in its eighth year, Harvard’s Presidential Public Service Fellowship (PPSF) lets students pursue summer-long projects serving the public good with organizations of their choice. The fellowship supports experiences across the spectrum of public service, including education, arts, and government, social service, and human...

Post-election outlook: Little cooperation, Harvard panel says

November 8, 2018

Democratic and Republican strategists came together at Harvard Kennedy School on Wednesday to unpack the election results at a session called “Midterms 2018: What Just Happened?” Both parties trumpeted victories, and the panelists agreed that political cooperation may get even rarer in the next two years.

“I don’t think it was a wave election,” said Marc Lotter, the former press secretary to Vice President Mike Pence. “I see it as an unfortunate continuing of a realignment. So much of what we saw indicates that urban and suburban areas are going blue, and rural areas are going red, and...

Building bridges can foster cooperation between uncooperative groups

November 7, 2018

When it comes to cooperation, science has shown, not all social networks are created equal.

While some have been shown to intrinsically lead to cooperation, other studies have suggested that certain structures not only lead to a breakdown in cooperation, they can produce outright spite.

But even in those most extreme cases, Harvard researchers say, it still may be possible to come back from the brink.

If those noncooperating communities can be loosely connected to each other or to larger social networks, it is possible for cooperation to emerge, according to a study co-...

And the election winner is: Whoever you think it is, analysts say

November 7, 2018

Partisans hoping to proclaim victory after Tuesday’s midterm elections got their wish: Democrats racked up enough wins to seize control of the House of Representatives in January for the first time since 2010, while Republicans added at least two seats to what was a slim advantage in the Senate.

That means it’ll be business as usual in the Senate, with Sen. Mitch McConnell (R.-Ky.) remaining as majority leader, but a major realignment in the House, with Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) expected to return to her perch as speaker, with Democrats running the committees.

Though voters...