Remarks on Behalf of the Academic Community

As prepared for delivery The Inauguration of L. Rafael Reif, 17th President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Thank you, Chairman Reed. It is an honor to be here today to extend warm greetings on behalf of colleges and universities throughout the nation and around the world. I come to you from just down the…

Death and the Civil War

Corydon Ireland Harvard Staff Writer In a rare on-campus film premiere Tuesday, Harvard screened “Death and the Civil War,” a documentary by Ric Burns, co-producer of the acclaimed 1990 PBS series “The Civil War.” Burns said the new film was inspired by Harvard President Drew Faust’s book “This Republic of Suffering.” The two-hour screening before…

President Faust’s 2012 Welcome Letter to the Community

Dear Members of the Harvard Community: The calendar still says summer, and so far the canopy of leaves overarching the Yard offers just a few flecks of yellow, orange, and red.  But the quickened tempo across campus says fall is here—and, with it, another year of institutional aspiration and, I hope, intellectual adventure.  Welcome to…

2012 Remarks at Morning Prayers

Each fall since I was named president – and this is the sixth – I have spoken at the outset of the year at Morning Prayers.  As I recall, almost every one of those days has been clear and crystalline – filled with light just beginning to slant with the promise of fall.  And that…

Convocation Address to the Class of 2016

Welcome, Class of 2016. Here we are at last. And you look so calm and composed. I imagine there has also been a moment in the past few hectic days, maybe while you were introducing yourself to your entryway or gazing up at those enormous arching trusses in Annenberg, when you felt a few seconds…