Dear Harvard College Students,

I am writing to follow up on Dean Gay's message announcing that Harvard College expects a full return to campus for the Fall 2021 semester. The College is abuzz with planning for students to live and learn on campus in the fall, and I am thrilled at the prospect of welcoming all students back to Harvard College and our physical campus.

While I am sure that, like me, you are excited by this news, we also know from history that there won't be an exact moment where our campus switches to a non-pandemic state. We also know that the pandemic has revealed issues we want to address and opportunities to do things in a different way than we did before. The upcoming year will require both patience and perseverance, and we will need to work together to create our community’s new normal. The College is here to support all students' transition back to campus, particularly our international students.

We hope this early information will allow you to begin to plan for fall. As Dean Gay also noted, we expect a larger number of students in the fall, and therefore are looking at all possible options to accommodate students in housing on campus or in Harvard-affiliated housing near campus. Our goal is to ensure that every student who wants Harvard housing will be able to live in Harvard-affiliated housing. We will have a better idea in May about what this looks like.

Harvard Summer School has previously announced that all summer courses will be taught remotely. All enrolled undergraduate students who learned remotely for the full academic year 2020-21 will still be eligible to live on campus this summer while taking remote summer school courses. Summer 2021 housing information will be sent out to eligible students in mid-April. In the meantime, we will continue to share updates related to summer and fall as they become available.

I know that our community will be stronger for all that we've been through together. We have missed you and are excited to welcome you back to campus this fall. I look forward to seeing you in the dining halls, libraries, and Yard.

Semper veritas,

Rakesh Khurana
Danoff Dean of Harvard College