User:Hubble-3/Harvard University
Private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established[6] in 1636 and named for its first benefactor[7], clergyman[8] John Harvard, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States[9] and among the most prestigious[10] in the world.[11]
Latin: Universitas Harvardiana | |
Former names | Harvard College |
---|---|
Motto | Veritas[1] |
Motto in English | Truth |
Type | Private university |
Established | 1636; 388 years ago (1636)[2] |
Endowment | $40.9 billion (2019)[3] |
President | Lawrence Bacow |
Academic staff | ~2,400 faculty members (and >10,400 academic appointments in affiliated teaching hospitals)[4] |
Students | 20,970 (Fall 2019)[5] |
Undergraduates | 6,755 (Fall 2019)[5] |
Postgraduates | 14,215 (Fall 2019)[5] |
Location | , , United States 42°22′28″N 71°07′01″W |
Campus | Urban 209 acres (85 ha) |
Newspaper | The Harvard Crimson |
Colors | Crimson[4] |
Nickname | Harvard Crimson |
Affiliations | NAICU AICUM AAU URA |
Website | harvard |
The Massachusetts colonial[12] legislature, the General Court, authorized[13] Harvard's founding. In its early years, Harvard College primarily trained Congregational and Unitarian clergy, although it has never been formally affiliated[14] with any denomination[15]. Its curriculum[16] and student body were gradually secularized[17] during the 18th century, and by the 19th century, Harvard had emerged[18] as the central cultural establishment[19] among Boston elites.[20][21]
Following the American Civil War, President Charles William Eliot's long tenure[22] (1869–1909) transformed the college and affiliated professional schools into a modern research university; Harvard became a founding member of the Association of American Universities in 1900.[23] James B. Conant led the university through the Great Depression and World War II; he liberalized admissions[24] after the war.
The university is composed of ten academic faculties plus the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Arts and Sciences offers study in a wide range of academic disciplines for undergraduates and for graduates, while the other faculties offer only graduate degrees, mostly professional. Harvard has three main campuses:[25] the 209-acre (85 ha) Cambridge campus centered on Harvard Yard; an adjoining campus immediately across the Charles River in the Allston neighborhood of Boston; and the medical campus in Boston's Longwood Medical Area.[26] Harvard's endowment is valued at $40.9 billion, making it the largest of any academic institution.[3] Endowment income helps enable the undergraduate college to admit students regardless of financial need and provide generous financial aid with no loans.[27] The Harvard Library is the world's largest academic library system, comprising 79 individual libraries holding about 20.4 million items.[28][29][30][31]
Harvard's alumni include 8 U.S. presidents, 188 living billionaires, 369 Rhodes Scholars, and 252 Marshall Scholars.[32][33][34] As of August 2020, 160 Nobel laureates, 18 Fields Medal winners, and 14 Turing Award laureates have been affiliated as students, faculty, or researchers.[35] Harvard students and alumni have also won 10 Academy Awards, 48 Pulitzer Prizes, and 108 Olympic medals (including 46 gold medals), and they have founded many notable companies worldwide.[36][37]