Harvard University

Harvard University
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Harvard" redirects here. For other uses, see Harvard (disambiguation).
Harvard University Harvard Wreath Logo 1.svg
Seal of Harvard University
Latin: Universitas Harvardiana
Motto     Veritas
Motto in English
    Truth
Established     1636
Type     Private - Research
Endowment     $36.4 billion
President     Drew Gilpin Faust
Academic staff
    4,671
Students     21,000
Undergraduates     6,700
Postgraduates     14,500
Location     Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Campus     Urban
210 acres (85 ha) (Main campus)
21 acres (8.5 ha) (Medical campus)
360 acres (150 ha) (Allston campus)
4,500 acres (1,800 ha) (other holdings)
Student newspaper     The Harvard Crimson
Colors      H  Crimson
Athletics     NCAA Division I – Ivy League
Sports     42 varsity teams
Nickname     Harvard Crimson
Affiliations     NAICU
AICUM
AAU
URA
Website     Harvard.edu
Harvard University logo (with its coat of arms)

Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, established in 1636. Its history, influence and wealth have made it one of the most prestigious universities in the world.

Established originally by the Massachusetts legislature and soon thereafter named for John Harvard (its first benefactor), Harvard is the United States' oldest institution of higher learning,[13] and the Harvard Corporation (formally, the President and Fellows of Harvard College) is its first chartered corporation. Although never formally affiliated with any denomination, the early College primarily trained Congregation­alist and Unitarian clergy. Its curriculum and student body were gradually secularized during the 18th century, and by the 19th century Harvard had emerged as the central cultural establishment among Boston elites.Following the American Civil War, President Charles W. Eliot's long tenure (1869–1909) transformed the college and affiliated professional schools into a modern research university; Harvard was a founding member of the Association of American Universities in 1900. James Bryant Conant led the university through the Great Depression and World War II and began to reform the curriculum and liberalize admissions after the war. The undergraduate college became coeducational after its 1977 merger with Radcliffe College.

The University is organized into eleven separate academic units—ten faculties and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study—with campuses throughout the Boston metropolitan area: its 209-acre (85 ha) main campus is centered on Harvard Yard in Cambridge, approximately 3 miles (km) northwest of Boston; the business school and athletics facilities, including Harvard Stadium, are located across the Charles River in the Allston neighborhood of Boston and the medical, dental, and public health schools are in the Longwood Medical Area.Harvard has the largest financial endowment of any academic institution in the world, standing at $32.3 billion as of June 2013.

Harvard is a large, highly residential research university. The nominal cost of attendance is high, but the University's large endowment allows it to offer generous financial aid packages. It operates several arts, cultural, and scientific museums, alongside the Harvard Library, which is the world's largest academic and private library system, comprising 79 individual libraries with over 18 million volumes.Harvard's alumni include eight U.S. presidents, several foreign heads of state, sixty-two living billionaires and 335 Rhodes Scholars. To date, some 150 Nobel laureates have been affiliated as students, faculty, or staff.