Dear Harvard College Students,

With winter recess on the horizon, I know we are all looking forward to taking a break from our academic and extracurricular pursuits. The first half of this academic year has been a momentous one, both on campus and off – challenging, yet encouraging. As you reflect on this semester, I hope each of you will take great pride in the impact you have made on this campus through your academic work, your interactions with friends and professors, and the meaningful change you create for the College and our society.

This fall, I have heard many of you speak up about the causes that you care about. I am both humbled and inspired by the thoughtful and diverse perspectives that animate our community. Your voices are vitally important to making Harvard the institution that we need it to be – not just for the current community, but the ones that follow. It is increasingly clear that to thrive in the 21^st century, we will need to recognize and nurture our interdependence—to be open to learning from one another. And yet, sometimes we talk past each other instead of with each other. As we head into 2020, I hope we can resolve to listen to each other and seek to understand the experiences that inform other people’s perspectives.

In the quiet weeks ahead, I am planning to pursue activities that challenge the limits of my own way of seeing the world. In addition to doing yoga, I am planning to explore the arts, including reading new genres, going to museums, and attending some live performances. I also hope to slow down and focus on being a better listener—to ask more questions and think about how to respond to new challenges.

However you choose to spend your time over the break, I hope you have the opportunity to relax, reconnect with your friends and family, and recharge. I want to offer you my best wishes for the holiday season and for a happy and healthy 2020.

I look forward to seeing you back on campus in January.

Warmly,
Dean Khurana
Danoff Dean of Harvard College