Harvard Magazine

Jimmy Carter passed away last month at the age of 100. When he was running for president in 1976, he was asked to name his favorite book. He said, “strangely enough,” it was Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by James Agee ’32. Why strangely enough? #Harvard

Domestic rice production has improved food security in Africa; but has it contributed to climate change? Emissions from rice cultivation in Africa alone account for 7% of methane emissions globally. How can populations be fed more sustainably? #Harvard

What is the purpose of echolocation? Barbara Lawrence, Harvard University Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ)'s curator of mammals from 1931-1976, paved the way for research into many fields. Together with her husband, William Schevill ’27, A.M. ’29, she conclusively proved that marine mammals use echolocation to track prey. #Harvard

Outside filmmaking, Jacob Roberts ’19 (formerly Hasty Pudding Theatricals), who co-produced and starred in the movie "Rent Free" about the Gen Z experience which premiered at Tribeca 2024, used to work as a veterinary assistant—scooping poop for Marty Scorsese’s terriers and Drew Barrymore’s labrador. #Harvard

Tens of billions of dollars have been poured into the search for a cure to Alzheimer's in the past decade and a half. Yet, until recently, caregivers—often described as the “invisible second patient”—have remained largely absent from the conversation, overlooked and understudied. Professor of medicine Christine Ritchie, who directs the Dementia Care Collaborative (DCC) at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), sees attention to caregivers as a moral and practical imperative. #Harvard

On December 18, the Ivy League announced that it would start participating in the NCAA FCS Football Championship playoffs. This dramatic change in Ivy policy comes three years after students gained the ability to earn money off their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). #Harvard

In this piece, Edward Tabor ’69 follows Harvard University's Class of 1937 through the upheavals and changes brought about by the Second World War—a group who experienced battles, wartime on campus, and a changing world. #Harvard

Haitian-American writer Nadine Pinede, PhD, MFA ’86 once created an independent concentration at Harvard University in literature and social criticism. Her new book, “When the Mapou Sings,” is a coming-of-age novel blending politics and magical realism in 1930s Haiti, in the years after the American occupation. #Harvard

Harvard University student pro-Palestine protests have been much quieter this semester: they’ve happened in the library. Though administrators, students, and faculty are fighting over whether these “study-ins” are protests, Harvard’s administration has still been able to refocus on academics. #Harvard

What can you do with a Harvard University Graduate School of Design education? For Frederick C. Gevalt ’72, M.Arch. ’76, in your spare time, build a complex diorama depicting an imaginary city and neighboring rural town, measuring 26 feet long and two to three feet across. Gevalt's magnificent city, with a model railroad connects sections of the landscape, is christened “Port Charles.” Read the full story: 🏙️➡️ https://lnkd.in/ekgYDcHf #Harvard #Harvarduniversity