During GSAS's 150th anniversary, we have featured many remarkable alumni and student achievements through our events, podcast, YouTube channel, and in this magazine. This issue of Collouy provides just a sample of the countless achievements attained to date and hints at all to come in our next 150 years and beyond. Throughout this year, I hope you will also consider traveling to Cambridge to hear from our excellent Harvard Horizons scholars, reminisce with fellow alumni during Alumni Days, or celebrate the extraordinary achievements of our Centennial Medalists (see more on page 32).
Our anniversary celebration gives us the opportunity not only to illuminate the past and present accomplishments of alumni but also to reimagine boldly what excellence in graduate education at GSAS means. To assure that strength for the future, I established the GSAS Admissions and Graduate Education (GAGE) working group, a committee of faculty from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences that met regularly through the spring and fall terms of 2022. GAGE considered the current state of PhD education at Harvard, and our conversations emphasized the importance of supporting students across several key dimensions—advising relationships, expectations around appropriate time to degree, financial support, and employment outcomes—necessary for them to realize a highly successful graduate experience. GAGE discussions also highlighted the necessity of taking a more student-centered approach to admissions and academic training. During spring 2023, we are developing a report that will detail actionable steps designed to foster our students’ talent and potential and inform how GSAS will work with academic departments on admissions.
As our anniversary highlights, GSAS honors its past while continuing to look forward, whether we are celebrating alumni achievements, rethinking excellences in graduate education, or supporting students as they prepare to make their mark on the world. I hope you will continue to celebrate—and look forward—with us.
—Emma Dench, Dean of Harvard Griffin GSAS
