Above Harvard Yard’s Dexter Gate reads the inscription: “Enter to Grow in Wisdom.” Inside those gates this week, The Crimson reported first-year undergraduates were distraught to learn that Harvard plans to grade more rigorously, given flat A’s now make up 60.2% of grades.

One first-year said after reading the College’s report on grade inflation, “The whole entire day, I was crying…I skipped classes on Monday, and I was just sobbing in bed.”

Another first-year said the news made her “rethink [her] decision to come to the school,” because after “killing [herself] all throughout high school,” she had hoped to “be fulfilled by [her] studies now, rather than being killed by them.”

The reaction is striking, and revealing. Even if professors recalibrate their grading this year, rebuilding a shared sense of academic purpose may take much longer. 

Harvard needs to foster a culture where students see rigor as part of what makes Harvard worth attending, not something that gets in the way. As the College’s own report put it, Harvard owes its students “an education that is meaningful as well as rigorous; we owe them an education that feels ‘worth it.’”

That kind of change will take sustained and sometimes difficult effort, including outside the classroom. This year, Harvard added a first-year orientation session on re-centering academics, led by Dean of Undergraduate Education Amanda Claybaugh. But if the Crimson article is any indication, one session won’t reset student culture. 

Fortunately, Harvard isn’t starting from zero. Some professors have pushed back on The Crimson’s sweeping portrayal, noting it relies heavily on quotes from students who have been at Harvard for all of eight weeks. For every viral quote, there are students solving hard problems and pushing themselves not just for grades, but out of a genuine desire to learn.

The challenge is making intellectual rigor the norm rather than something students fear, so Harvard’s promise to “grow in wisdom” is more than just a motto on a gate.

Ask 1636

Send us your Harvard and higher education questions!

Q: Who can violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act? Does it just apply to universities, or does it extend to individual students?

Title VI applies to federally-funded colleges and universities, not to individuals. But student (or faculty, administrator, etc.) conduct can trigger a Title VI violation if a school knows about harassment that creates a “hostile environment” and fails to respond properly, showing “deliberate indifference.” For example, in its Title VI Notice of Violation to Harvard, the government held the University — not individual students or faculty — responsible for allowing pervasive antisemitism to persist. (Note: "hostile environment” cases are different from Title VI “disparate treatment” cases.)

Events

  • Cambridge, MA — November 5 from 4-5 p.m. ET: Intellectual Vitality and Harvard College present, “Do Colleges Get Free Speech Right?” a conversation between Harvard College Dean David Deming (MPP ‘10) and Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber on campus speech and Eisgruber’s new book, Terms of Respect. Register here.

  • Boston, MA — November 6 from 6-8 p.m. ET: The Harvard Club of Boston is hosting Harvard College Dean David Deming for a fireside chat with Harvard Club of Boston Vice President, Andy Freed (AB '90, MPP ‘94) on the future of Harvard College. Register here.  

  • Cambridge, MA — November 6 from 7-8:30 p.m. ET: The MIT Free Speech Alliance’s Fall 2025 debate, “Are U.S. Colleges too Dependent on International Students?” will feature former Crimson Education COO David Freed (AB ‘16, AM ‘16), Boston College professor Chris Glass, James Fishback, and Nathan Halberstadt, moderated by MIT professor and edX founder Anant Agarwal. Register here.

  • Los Angeles, CA — November 6 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. PT: This Harvard College Fund reception will include updates from campus and research from biology professor Erin Hecht and earth and planetary sciences professor Brendan Meade. Register here.

  • Cleveland, OH — November 13 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. ET: Harvard Divinity School (HDS) and the Harvard Club of Northeast Ohio are hosting a reception with HDS Dean Marla Frederick. Register here.

  • New York, NY — November 18 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. ET: Harvard Business School (HBS) and the HBS Club of New York are hosting a reception for alumni with additional career planning workshops for recent graduates. Register here.

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FYIs

Harvard Bans Alumni Interviewers From Mentioning Race, Religion, Ethnicity, or National Origin

  • Harvard has issued new guidance to alumni interviewers instructing them to avoid specifying languages, religions, or ethnic organizations. The updated handbook directs volunteers to refer instead to “affinity” or “faith” groups. Alumni were also told to not include the terms “underrepresented,” “minority,” and “person of color” in evaluations. 

  • Reports containing restricted terms will be discarded.

  • Harvard officials said the updates reflect no change in policy since the 2023 Supreme Court ruling against race-conscious admissions but aim to demonstrate full compliance as the federal government has applied the ruling “to a much broader class of policies.” 

  • The new rule goes further than previous restrictions, which prohibited considering race when evaluating an application but still allowed descriptive references in interview reports.

Harvard Faculty Senate Planning Group Releases Draft Bylaws

  • A planning group has proposed bylaws for a 43-member faculty senate to advise Harvard’s central administration and governing board on cross-university issues such as grade inflation.

  • The senate would be advisory only, unlike more powerful senates at peer institutions like Stanford and Columbia, which can set curricula and draft faculty handbooks.

  • Each school’s seats would be allocated in a way that is “reflective of size, but not completely proportional.” The Faculty of Arts and Sciences would have 12 seats; 6 for the Medical School (including Dental); 4 each for Public Health, Kennedy, Business, and Law Schools; and 3 each for the Design, Divinity, and Education Schools. Schools could choose to elect or randomly select senators, and senators would serve 3-year terms. 

  • Each school’s faculty will vote on the proposal some time during the 25-26 academic year.  Previously, all Harvard faculties except the Business School have agreed to send delegates to the Faculty Senate.

Harvard Salient Suspended After Publishing Article Echoing Nazi Rhetoric; Student Leaders Refuse To Comply

  • The Harvard Salient’s alumni board voted to suspend the conservative student magazine’s operations, citing “reprehensible, abusive, and demeaning” content and “credible complaints” about its culture. 

  • The decision followed a September article that stated, “Germany belongs to the Germans, France to the French, Britain to the British, America to the Americans,” language nearly identical to a phrase used by Adolf Hitler in a 1939 speech, and other passages invoking the phrase “blood and soil.”.

  • The magazine’s student leadership have rejected the suspension and vowed to continue publishing, alleging the board violated its own procedures.

  • Harvard officials have not intervened, describing the Salient as a fiscally and editorially independent student organization. 

Harvard Bestows University Professorship on Four Faculty Members

  • Harvard has appointed constitutional scholar Noah Feldman (AB ‘92), economic historian Claudia Goldin, and theoretical physicist Cumrun Vafa as University Professors, the University’s highest faculty title. Neuroscientist Catherine Dulac remains a University Professor but has been appointed to a different chair.

  • With Feldman assuming the University Professorship previously held by former president Drew Faust, she has become professor emerita.

  • Michael Porter (MBA ‘71, PhD ‘73), the HBS professor known for his Five Forces framework and contributions to business strategy, has retired from his University Professorship and is now professor emeritus.  

New FIRE Report Indicates Targeting of Scholars Has Long-Term Effects on Campus Speech

  • The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) surveyed 209 scholars targeted for their speech, teaching, or research. 72% said they wouldn’t change what they said or did, but many still reported lasting effects on their behavior and expression:

    • 94% of respondents reported negative impacts, including reputational damage, PTSD, and employment consequences.

    • About one-third said they now avoid expressing similar views to those that got them targeted. Many also speak more cautiously with colleagues, students, or administrators.

    • More than one-third now avoid certain topics in class, online, or even in personal life. Some also rewrote syllabi, reduced public engagement, or reported stress, isolation, and job loss.

  • FIRE’s broader 2024 faculty survey also found over 25% of professors self-censor with students or peers.

More News

More News at Harvard:

  • The Crimson: “Harvard Events Turn To Chatham House Rule As Political Tensions Rise”

  • Harvard Magazine: “Harvard’s Class of 2029 Reflects Shifts in Racial Makeup After Affirmative Action Ends”

  • The Crimson: “Sandel, Deming, Kennedy Clash Over Meritocracy in Higher Education and Democracy”

  • The Crimson: “Some Harvard Students Defer Grad School Plans As Universities Limit Admissions”

  • The Crimson: “Harvard’s Task Forces Are Still Waiting for Their Pluralism Hub”

  • Harvard Gazette: “As states take lead in fixing U.S. schools, Harvard will serve as a hub”

  • The Crimson: “Harvard Continues Record Spending on Lobbying in Third Quarter of 2025”

  • The Crimson: “From a ‘Crazy’ Class to a Campus Craze: Entrepreneurship Takes Off in Harvard College Curriculum”

  • Harvard Gazette: “Pritzker sees an institution meeting the moment” — feat. Harvard Corporation senior fellow (chair) Penny Pritzker (AB ‘81)

  • The Crimson: “Ph.D. Cuts Are the Beginning of the End for Academia” — op-ed by Khadija Khan (AB ’28)

  • The Crimson: “At Harvard Chan, We Need To Talk About Hard Things” — op-ed by second-year MPH candidate Akshay Narayanan 

  • The Hill: “Harvard’s unblinking hypocrisy: Dean denounces ‘evil’ police, ‘whiteness’ “ — op-ed by George Washington University Law professor Jonathan Turley

More News Beyond Harvard:

  • Harvard Business Review: “A Smarter Way to Disagree” — by HKS Professor Julia Minson (AB ‘99), UCLA professor Hanne Collins (PhD ‘24), and Imperial College professor Michael Yeomans

  • Wall Street Journal: “Colleges Face a Financial Reckoning. The University of Chicago Is Exhibit A.”

  • Stanford Report: “Faculty Senate votes against power to condemn or rebuke”

  • Yale Daily News: “One year on, campus remains split on institutional voice policy”

  • Yale Daily News: “History department offering course on trust in higher education”

  • Brown Daily Herald: “Brown Corporation accepts over $121 million in gifts and pledges at its fall meetings”

  • Michigan Daily: “Three pro-Palestine activists arrested for protesting speech given by former Israeli soldiers”

  • Northwestern Now: “Provost Kathleen Hagerty to step down by end of academic year”

  • MSNBC: “‘We never got any pressure’: Vanderbilt chancellor on memo from Trump on federal funds” 

  • Inside Higher Ed: “GOP Senator Accuses AAUP President of Exacerbating ‘Organizational Antisemitism’”

  • FIRE: “Princeton president misunderstands FIRE data — and campus free speech” 

  • Deseret News: “Harvard joins other universities to confront the roots of skepticism in higher education”

  • Nature: “The global PhD landscape 2025”

  • Jewish Insider: “Constitutional lawyer Alyza Lewin tapped to lead Combat Antisemitism Movement’s U.S. advocacy”

  • AEI: “Campus Leaders Conveniently Find the Spines They Lost Years Ago” — by Frederick Hess (EdM ‘90, AM ‘96 PhD ‘97)

  • Boston Globe: “American civics education should confuse, not comfort” — op-ed by Penn professor Jeffrey Green (PhD ‘07)