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Dear Students,
Welcome back to the new academic year and the first day of classes! I hope your summer was filled with a mix of excitement and relaxation and that you are starting the year rested and ready for the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.
While I’ve met many of you already, I wanted to officially introduce myself. I started on July 1st as the new Danoff Dean of Harvard College, and I’ve been at Harvard for nearly two decades, first as a graduate student, and then as a member of the faculty for the last 14 years. More recently, my wife Janine and I had the honor of serving as the Faculty Deans of Kirkland House, where we lived with our two daughters and the so many wonderful members of the K-House community. If we haven’t met, I hope to get to know many of you in the coming weeks and months.
I am an economist by training, and I’ve spent my career studying higher education, economic inequality, labor markets, the future of work and, more recently, artificial intelligence. You can read more about more about me on my personal website, where you also find links to my research papers and columns I’ve written for a popular audience.
As I begin my first year as Dean, I am mindful of the proud tradition of excellence at Harvard College. For nearly 400 years, we have been committed to educating students to make a difference in the world. This enduring commitment to excellence has meant that we are a community that is willing to change and adapt to meet the needs of students, the broader Harvard community, our nation, and the world.
In the spirit of new beginning, I would like to share with you my five areas of focus for the year ahead:
Centering academics – While I know you are juggling many activities, I hope you will always prioritize your academic work. Your academic experience at Harvard is very important to me, and I will be working closely with Dean Claybaugh and the Office of Undergraduate Education to improve the intellectual experience of Harvard College courses. This will include a thorough review of the General Education curriculum that we will be undertaking this coming year.
Generative AI in the classroom – A recent survey of Harvard students found that 87.5% of you are regular users of generative AI. It’s been less than three years since the release of ChatGPT, and it is already omnipresent on campus, and in society more broadly. Adapting to the widespread use of AI requires changes in the way we teach and learn. I believe it will also give us a chance to reflect and improve our daily work.
The new Office of Culture and Community – As you have likely heard, the Dean of Students Office has undertaken incredible work figuring out how we can support our entire community during these fraught times. Earlier this summer, we opened the Office of Culture and Community. I know that this is a big change for many people, and I ask for your forbearance as we chart the path forward. I am particularly grateful to Dean Mauro, Dean Dunne, and the entire Office of Culture and Community staff for their work over the summer getting ready for the fall. There is a great slate of events planned for the start of the school year, and I hope that all of you will stop by and take the time to learn more.
Maintaining and improving the student experience – While these are challenging times for Harvard financially, I want you to know that I am prioritizing the student experience whenever possible. That means working closely with our campus partners to ensure the highest possible level of service given the constraints we all face. For example, we have been working closely and collaboratively with HUDS to roll out hot breakfast sandwiches in all twelve Houses and Annenberg, in addition to some other changes. I am deeply grateful to the HUDS team for making these improvements to the student experience. More broadly, I want to hear from you about ways we can improve. Creativity and responsiveness are especially important when resources are limited.
- Pride in our work – Harvard is one of America’s greatest institutions and stands as a monument to human progress. Every day when I come to my office in University Hall, I am reminded of how lucky I am to be a part of this community. News stories about our campus portray only a very small slice of what happens here. Harvard is thriving. By most objective measures, our students, faculty and staff aren’t just excellent – you are more excellent than ever. I hope we can share our stories of excellence in the year ahead. If Harvard pride is infectious, you can go ahead and call me the superspreader.
I want to hear from you.
There is a form on the Dean of the College website where you can request an appointment for my office hours. I will be holding time on my calendar each week for conversation with students, and look forward to hearing from you. I have started an Instagram account (@deandeming). Follow me for fun College content and for behind-the-scenes access to our daily work. Most of all, I want to showcase the great work you’re doing in and out of class. If you’re interested in joining me for a conversation, please contact the communications team.
I look forward to meeting you and staying in touch through the semester.
With gratitude and Harvard pride,
David
David J. Deming
Danoff Dean of Harvard College