21-459: Holworthy Hall , in Harvard Yard , Cambridge, Massachusetts, is a historic dormitory for first-year students at Harvard College . Holworthy was named in 1812 in honor of a wealthy English merchant, Sir Matthew Holworthy, who died in 1678 having bequeathed £1,000 to Harvard — then the largest donation in the college's history — "for the promotion of learning and the promulgation of
42-403: Is located near Widener. The freshman dormitories of Harvard Yard include the upper levels of Massachusetts Hall , and Wigglesworth Hall , Weld Hall , Grays Hall , Matthews Hall , Straus Hall , Mower Hall , Hollis Hall , Stoughton Hall , Lionel Hall , Holworthy Hall , Canaday Hall , and Thayer Hall . Nestled among Mower, Hollis, Lionel, and Stoughton Halls is Holden Chapel , home of
63-478: Is the chief administrator of Harvard University and the ex officio president of the Harvard Corporation . Each is appointed by and is responsible to the other members of that body, who delegate to the president the day-to-day running of the university. Harvard's current president is Alan Garber , who took office on January 2, 2024, following the resignation of Claudine Gay . In August 2024,
84-774: The New York Times reported that Holworthy's "record of men afterward illustrious who have occupied its rooms is probably longer than any similar list possessed by any other college building," making it the "pet" dorm of seniors. With the other freshman dormitories in the Yard, Holworthy joined the Harvard–Yale sister colleges arrangement in 2005, when Harvard's freshman dormitories — which are not otherwise formally affiliated with Harvard's residential houses — became associated with Harvard houses and their counterparts among Yale University 's residential colleges. Holworthy
105-536: The Holden Choirs . Nearby is Phillips Brooks House, dedicated to student service to the community . Administrative buildings in the Yard include the aforementioned University Hall and Massachusetts Hall; Loeb House, on the east side of the Yard; and Wadsworth House, on the south side. Loeb House is the home of Harvard's governing bodies: the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers . Wadsworth House houses
126-539: The Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the Dean of Harvard College . Libraries in the Yard are Widener Library , its connected Pusey Library annex, Houghton Library for rare books and manuscripts, and Lamont Library , the main undergraduate library. Classroom and departmental buildings include Emerson Hall, Sever Hall , Robinson Hall, and Boylston Hall. The Harvard Bixi , a Chinese stele with inscribed text,
147-583: The Gospel" in Cambridge . When it opened on August 18, 1812, then-President John Thornton Kirkland of Harvard referred to it as "Holworthy College." It did not have indoor plumbing; for almost a century, students had to go outside to use the college's pump. Rent was $ 26 per year. Until 1860, Room 24 served as the library of Harvard's chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society and also housed
168-568: The Harvard Class of 2000. 42°22′32″N 71°07′02″W / 42.37549°N 71.11726°W / 42.37549; -71.11726 Harvard Yard Harvard Yard is the oldest and among the most prominent parts of the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts . The yard has a historic center and modern crossroads and contains most of the freshman dormitories , Harvard's most important libraries, Memorial Church , several classroom and departmental buildings, and
189-518: The Harvard Corporation announced he would be in the position until mid- 2027. The president plays an important part in university-wide planning and strategy. Each names a faculty's dean (and, since the foundation of the office in 1994, the university's provost ), and grants tenure to recommended professors. However, the president is expected to make such decisions after extensive consultation with faculty members. Recently, however,
210-610: The Harvard University Librarian and the Office of the University Marshal , among others. Lehman Hall , at the southwestern corner of the Yard, provides administrative services for students who live off-campus. 42°22′28″N 71°07′02″W / 42.37447°N 71.11719°W / 42.37447; -71.11719 President of Harvard University The president of Harvard University
231-403: The Yard became the center of student life on campus. It also became known for housing many of the most prominent students within the college's social life, including athletic team captains and managers, Lampoon presidents (including Robert Benchley '12, who spoke at Holworthy's centennial dinner), Advocate presidents, and the leaders of the college's various musical groups. By the 1910s,
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#1732793805623252-425: The Yard, known as Tercentenary Theatre , is a wide grassy area bounded by Widener Library , Memorial Church , University Hall , and Sever Hall . Tercentenary Theatre is the site of annual commencement exercises and other convocations . The western third of Harvard Yard, which opens onto Peabody Street (often mistaken for nearby Massachusetts Avenue) at Johnston Gate and abuts the center of Harvard Square to
273-524: The building burned in 1764. Rebuilt in 1766, the current Harvard Hall now houses classrooms. Across the Old Yard from Johnston Gate is University Hall (1815), whose white-granite facade was the first to challenge the red-brick Georgian style until then ascendant; between its twin west staircases stands the John Harvard statue . University Hall contains major administrative offices, including those of
294-520: The continued importance of diversity in higher education. At Harvard's founding it was headed by a "schoolmaster", Nathaniel Eaton . In 1640, when Henry Dunster was brought in, he adopted the title of president. Since Harvard was founded for the training of Puritan clergy, and even though its mission was soon broadened, nearly all presidents through the end of the 18th century were in holy orders. All presidents from Leonard Hoar in 1672 through Nathan Pusey in 1971 were graduates of Harvard College . Of
315-442: The job has become increasingly administrative, especially as fund-raising campaigns have taken on central importance in large institutions such as Harvard. Some have criticized this trend to the extent it has prevented the president from focusing on substantive issues in higher education. Each president is professor in some department of the university and teaches from time to time. The university maintains an official residence for
336-403: The librarian, who kept the chapter's several hundred books in his study closet. The dorm was originally used for all classes, as evidenced by famous residents like Thomas Bulfinch and Horatio Alger being housed in it multiple times, but was predominantly used for housing seniors during its early existence. By the turn of the 20th century, the senior classes expressed a desire to formally make
357-543: The offices of senior university officials, including the President of Harvard University . The Yard grew over the centuries around Harvard College's first parcel of land, purchased in 1637. Today it is a grassy area of 22.4 acres (9.1 ha) bounded principally by Massachusetts Avenue , Cambridge Street, Broadway, and Quincy Street. Its perimeter fencing – principally iron, with some stretches of brick – has twenty-seven gates. The center of
378-479: The oldest Yard buildings — first Holworthy, then Hollis and Stoughton — their own and petitioned the college administration to make Holworthy a senior-only dormitory. By the hundredth anniversary of the dorm in 1912, about 1,300 men had lived in Holworthy. By 1904, Holworthy was fully a senior dorm. Although it was not considered as fashionable as some of the newer dorms, Holworthy and its neighbors on
399-436: The president's use, which from 1912 until 1971, was President's House , and since then has been Elmwood . Harvard presidents have traditionally influenced educational practices nationwide. Charles W. Eliot , for example, originated America's familiar system of a smorgasbord of elective courses available to each student; James B. Conant worked to introduce standardized testing; Derek Bok and Neil L. Rudenstine argued for
420-651: The south, is known as the Old Yard. Most of the freshman dormitories cluster around the Old Yard, including Massachusetts Hall (1720), Harvard's oldest building and the second-oldest academic building in the United States. Massachusetts Hall also houses the offices of the President of Harvard University. The original Harvard Hall in the Old Yard housed the College library, including the books donated by John Harvard —all but one of which were destroyed when
441-407: Was paired with Hollis Hall to become part of Winthrop House 's affiliation with Davenport College at Yale. Holworthy is notable for having been the freshman dorm of several writers and producers of The Simpsons who graduated in the 1980s — Al Jean '81, Bill Oakley '88, Conan O'Brien '85, and Mike Reiss '81. O'Brien referenced his time in Holworthy during his Class Day speech to
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