Dean Deming Discusses Campus Culture, Curriculum, and the Student Experience

At a wide-ranging open forum with students in January, Danoff Dean of Harvard College David Deming reflected on his first semester in the role and engaged students on issues spanning the state of expression on campus, the course catalogue, recent reports on grading, student life, research funding, and the evolving role of the College in a changing external and technological landscape. The conversation, which included both pre-submitted and live questions, highlighted Deming’s emphasis on student engagement, institutional stewardship, and fostering conditions for open and honest dialogue across multiple settings.

Fostering Community and Student Life

The forum opened with questions about campus culture and collaboration, including student-led artistic initiatives. Responding to a question about collaboration among dance groups, Deming highlighted the role of the Office for the Arts as a hub for creative coordination across disciplines and student organizations, emphasizing the value of cross-pollination among artistic communities. He reaffirmed his enthusiasm for student initiatives and expressed a willingness to participate in events that spotlight student creativity.

Students also asked questions about informal social barriers, such as perceptions around meeting new people in shared spaces like Annenberg Hall compared to House dining halls. Deming encouraged students to push through social discomfort, describing community-building as an individual as well as institutional responsibility. 

“I go into Annenberg twice a week and sit down with people I don’t know every day. It’s not as awkward as you think it’s going to be. This is a thing that if I could tell my 19-year-old, 20-year-old self, go back in time and do it, I would absolutely say, push through the awkwardness… People are going to be nice to you. Sometimes they’re going to be grateful that you sat down and made a conversation with them.”

He also reflected on the role of happenstance. 

“Most of the social connections that I’ve made or professional connections I’ve made that have helped me have been serendipitous in some way… if you want to get lucky in, not just in professional life, but in love and in friendship, you’ve got to have a high surface area. The more conversations you have with people who are random, the more likely you are to have a really good one that unexpectedly helps you. So just flood the zone, do it as much as you can. I promise you won’t regret it.”

Housing Day and other traditions were also discussed, with Deming signaling that upcoming programming would expand on recent years while maintaining the spirit of longstanding College traditions.

Free Expression, Protest, and Campus Dialogue

Several questions focused on free expression, protest policies, and the administration’s role in responding to controversial speech. Deming articulated a consistent framework for his role as Dean: prioritizing the creation of a campus culture in which students feel empowered to engage one another directly, rather than relying on administrative intervention to mediate disagreement. He affirmed: 

“In my role as the Dean of the College, I have to… be the arbiter of a campus culture that values free expression.”

He likened College leadership to “referees,” responsible for enforcing rules fairly and consistently, in a content-neutral manner, while maintaining conditions for productive conversations. “The best way to counter speech that you disagree with is more speech,” Deming said. He also underscored the importance of distinguishing between institutional neutrality and indifference, reaffirming the College’s commitment to supporting students across identities even as organizational structures evolve.

On questions related to geopolitical conflicts, divestment, and activism, Deming emphasized his support for student advocacy and protest while reiterating that decisions related to University-wide investments and personnel fall outside the scope of the role of the Dean of the College. Though he noted the importance of student activism as “a big part of campus life,” and that “Harvard has a proud history of people engaging in protest, in acts of speech, political speech, speech about what’s going wrong in society, calling attention to issues.” He emphasized that the College’s work is to set the conditions for the debate but not weigh in on the outcome.

Curriculum, Liberal Arts, and Academic Change

Students asked about the trajectory of Harvard’s curriculum and the balance between structure and choice. Deming situated Harvard between more prescriptive and more open curricular models, emphasizing faculty governance as the central driver of curricular evolution. He pointed to growth in course offerings addressing climate, artificial intelligence, and other emerging issues as evidence of a decentralized system responsive to both faculty expertise and student demand.

At the same time, he defended the enduring value of a liberal arts and sciences education and argued that exploring opportunities can be beneficial for personal and professional growth. “Your task here is not to be the best at everything and to beat everyone,” Deming said, “but it’s to find your lane and do well in that lane. There are enough lanes for all of you. You don’t have to compete with each other at all. There’s some particular corner of the world that you really care about… You find that corner of that corner, and then you pursue it.”

He described the General Education curriculum as a statement of the College’s educational ideals: interdisciplinary learning, civic engagement, and knowledge that connects academic inquiry to real-world challenges that continues to evolve with the times.

Grading, Distinction, and Academic Standards

A significant portion of the discussion focused on grading practices and concerns about grade inflation. Deming explained that rising grade distributions present a collective action challenge that ultimately detracts from meaningful academic distinction.

“The purpose of that is to preserve the value of your transcript and your education for employers and for future students,” Deming asserted, “You may not think this is in your best interest, but I promise you it is… graduate schools feel like they can’t make distinctions between students at Harvard anymore because there are so many As… and employers don’t look at the transcript as much as they used to because they feel like it doesn’t really have any information.”

He reminded attendees that any changes would require a vote of the faculty and described ongoing efforts within the College’s Office of Undergraduate Education in partnership with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences to reassess grading norms. Deming noted that any adjustments would be paired with clear communication and broad faculty input.

Research Opportunities and Funding Pressures

Students raised questions about undergraduate research in a period of constrained funding. Deming expressed optimism that faculty may increasingly turn to undergraduates as collaborators and highlighted survey data indicating that a majority of Harvard College students already engage in research during their time at the College.

“I actually think this is not a bad time for students to get involved in research… When faculty are resource-constrained, they will often turn more to undergraduate students to help, not less,” Deming said. 

Preserving access to research opportunities remains a high priority, even amid existing and changing budget pressures, given the central role of research in the undergraduate experience.

Budget Constraints and Institutional Stewardship

Deming addressed questions and comments about the College’s overall budget, the recent change to require the student activities fee and the move to free laundry, and the broader financial model of the University. He acknowledged the impact of the federal endowment tax and other external pressures while stressing that decisions about resource allocation at the College are guided first by preserving the core student experience.

“We are facing some budget cuts… and the student experience is really important to me. So how do I square those? I think about that statement about the student experience as a guiding principle for the decisions we have to make about resource allocation. When I’m thinking about difficult decisions, I’m thinking first about how do we preserve the core of what Harvard College is, which is the teaching and research mission of the University and the student experience.”

Rather than digging into revenue-generating ventures outside the College’s mission, Deming recommended focusing on Harvard’s core strengths: teaching, learning, and research. He described philanthropy as essential to sustaining a model that provides extensive financial aid and high-touch education.

Identity, Belonging, and Student Well-Being

Student attendees asked how the College can maintain a sense of belonging amid political polarization and global conflict outside of campus. Deming framed this as one of the central challenges of residential education, emphasizing mutual respect, sustained dialogue, and shared life beyond disagreement noting the goal of ensuring college is a place where students can learn, discover, and wrestle with complex topics.

He addressed institutional changes affecting identity-based offices: “Harvard College is committed to supporting students of all identities… the structure of the offices has changed, but our commitment to those students has stayed exactly the same… we have a different organizational form, but our commitments remain just as strong.” He reiterated the College’s commitment to ensuring programming was accessible for all students who would benefit from support.

And emphasized shared responsibility in sustaining community, “We’re trying to do something extraordinarily difficult and valuable here on Harvard’s campus, which is to create a truly diverse living and learning community where people experience each other’s realities,” Deming shared, “not always in harmony, but at least in a kind of mutual understanding and respect.”

He also reflected on student well-being and pressure. Deming encouraged students to take advantage of the time and space the College offers to grow intellectually and personally.

Reflections on Leadership

Deming was prompted to reflect on his first six months as Dean. In his response, he described the role as both humbling and fulfilling. While acknowledging the personal cost of stepping back from research and teaching, he emphasized the privilege of stewarding an institution with global influence and a nearly 400-year history.

“The greatest privilege in a professional life,” he said, “is to be part of something that really matters.”

Reflecting on what sustains him in the role: “The best part of being the Dean of Harvard College is that I get to spend a lot of time with students… That fills the bucket.”

Deming concluded the forum by reaffirming his commitment to regular open conversations with students, noting that such exchanges are central to his vision of the College and to sustaining a vibrant academic community.

As a reminder, Harvard College students can sign up for office hours with Dean Deming here. 

Disclosure: This article includes an AI-generated summary. All quoted material was manually selected and inserted from the original transcript.