Regular readers of Colloquy will notice that this issue has a new look and additional features. The philosophy behind this redesign was developed after considering what the title of this publication means—a conversation—as a way of encouraging you to engage with the content and with one another through letters to the editor and connections with other alumni in our community. I hope you will enjoy the pages that follow and that you will let us know what you think.
The 2016–2017 academic year marks the 25th anniversary of Dudley House as the graduate student center serving GSAS students. When Dudley was rededicated, few schools invested in the idea of building community among graduate students. But those at GSAS knew that graduate students needed to leave the lab or library and engage with peers in a multitude of ways, from intellectual conversation to athletic play. Dudley’s success is evident, both with our students and in the larger Harvard community, and it has become a model for our peers.
To celebrate this milestone, GSAS is hosting a series of anniversary events during the academic year, which included a weekend of events during November. On page 24, you will find a recap of the gala open house that brought current students together with alumni, the Graduate School Alumni Association Council, and GSAS staff, a reunion of Dudley Fellows, and the Dudley Beer Fest, which included local beer and cider producers.
Dudley’s 25th anniversary underscores the importance of community in graduate education. As graduate students, we were trained to ask questions and develop new lines of thinking in our fields, often inspired by those we engaged with in our departments and programs, at Dudley, and beyond. I hope that you will continue the conversation—the colloquy—you began with peers and others during your time at Harvard, and that you are equally engaged by what you read here.
—Xiao-Li Meng, Dean of Harvard Griffin GSAS
