Program
Friday, September 20
Cabot Science Library
1 Oxford Street
Cambridge, Massachusetts
6:00 p.m. | Evening Welcome Reception
Connect with peers and share your personal volunteer story during the Volunteer Assembly kickoff reception.
Saturday, September 21
Harvard University Science and Engineering Complex
150 Western Avenue
Allston, Massachusetts
8:30 a.m. | Main Atrium | Breakfast
Join other attendees for breakfast in the main atrium.
9:30 a.m. | Winokur Family Hall | Welcome Keynote: Why Us, Why Now?
Hopi Hoekstra, Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, C. Y. Chan Professor of Arts and Sciences, and Xiaomeng Tong and Yu Chen Professor of Life Sciences
10:15 a.m. | Learning Session 1
11:15 a.m. | Learning Session 2
The FAS prepares students to change the world. Connect with faculty and administrators during these interactive and engaging discussions. We invite you to choose two sessions the day of the event.
LL2.223, Lower Level 2 | Building Critical Community: From Rhetorical Commonplaces to Common Ground
This session will use the commonplace as a lens through which to think about the relationship between research and teaching in the traditional Humanities and our contemporary world. At a time when society is highly polarized and universities are emphasizing the importance of open dialogue, understanding the potential of rhetorical techniques to build consensus and sow dissent is more relevant than ever. Professor Greenwood will incorporate examples from her research on ancient Greece and Rome and American history.
Emily Greenwood, James M. Rothenberg Professor of the Classics and of Comparative Literature
1.402, First Floor | Part of the Pack: Uncovering the Neuroscience of Humans and Dogs
The human ability to socially transmit information is one of the secrets of our success as a species, and something that sets us apart from our closest primate relatives. Canine minds have also adapted to support deep interconnection, and have direct relevance for human wellbeing. In this session, Dr. Erin Hecht, principal investigator in the Department of Evolutionary Biology, will share neurological evolutionary perspectives on dogs and human minds. Her integrated, classroom-to-lab research helps students uncover how the minds of a human's best friend can impact our abilities to teach, learn, and cooperate.
Erin Hecht, Assistant Professor, Department of Human Evolutionary Biology
LL2.229, Lower Level 2 | Come to Your Senses: Awakening Our Shared Humanity through Art
Whether in the form of poetry, painting, drama, music, or dance, art stimulates engagement and reflection through the senses. In this session, Dr. Robin Kelsey will offer the audience a chance to engage in humanistic inquiry and interpretation through a shared experience of art. This exercise will acquaint attendees with the habits of acute observation, careful analysis, historical reflection, and patient judgment that study of the humanities at Harvard aims to foster. Ultimately, developing these habits can lead us toward a greater understanding the world around us and of one another. Exercising these habits in the company of wondrous art also just make life better.
Robin Kelsey, Shirley Carter Burden Professor of Photography
Noon | Main Atrium | Lunch
Catch up with peers and make new connections over lunch in the main atrium.
1:30 p.m. | Featured Speaker Sessions
All-star professors will speak on topics close to their hearts and essential for the world. We invite you to choose one session the day of the event.
LL2.224, Lower Level 2 | Intellectual Vitality and Culture Change at Harvard College
Meaningful Engagement and continuous change are crucial to our survival as an institution and community. In this session, Dean Rakesh Khurana will discuss the capacities and capabilities leaders and institutions must embrace in order to resist the inevitable trap of stagnancy, specifically around dialogue in the liberal arts and sciences. Attendees should be prepared to read a provided case study and collaboratively generate solutions around productive dialogue, open exploration, and what led to the creation of intellectual vitality.
Rakesh Khurana PhD '98, Danoff Dean of Harvard College, Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development at Harvard Business School, and Professor of Sociology in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Winokur Family Hall | A Renovation for American Democracy
At The Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation, Dr. Danielle Allen addresses threats to democracy that come from weakening institutions, interpersonal and informational distrust, and polarization. The Lab's multidisciplinary community of scholars, practitioners, and partner organizations work together to shepherd concepts and reforms into practice—translating research into impact. From community-led initiatives to national policies and structural reforms, join Dr. Allen as she discusses the research and field-building which supports the perpetuation of a healthy democracy.
Danielle S. Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor, Director of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation, and Director of the Democratic Knowledge Project
LL2.221, Lower Level 2 | Trusting Your Gut: How Insights from Chemistry and the Microbiome Can Impact Our World
Humans are colonized by trillions of microorganisms that exert a profound influence on health and disease. In the Balskus Lab, we believe investigating and deciphering microbes and microbial communities with chemistry will lay the foundation for new therapeutic strategies, revolutionizing the way we can effectively treat human health and disease. In this session, Dr. Emily Balskus will discuss her work and research, giving attendees fundamental insight into microbiomes and providing innovative solutions to problems facing medicine, agriculture, and the environment.
Emily Balskus, Thomas Dudley Cabot Professor of Chemistry; Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator
2:45 p.m. | Winokur Family Hall | Closing Keynote
Join other Assembly attendees in Winokur Hall for a closing session presented by the University’s first chief diversity and inclusion officer Sherri Charleston. As one of the nation’s leading experts in diversity and higher education, Dr. Charleston will discuss how her approach to DEIB is grounded in her academic interests of history and law, and how her office works to implement policies focused on sustainable organizational change. Facilitated by Ravin Agrawal '91, MBA ’95, this closing session will feature a formal prevention followed by a fireside chat and audience Q&A.
Sherri Charleston, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer
3:45 p.m. | Main Atrium | Reception
All attendees are invited to a final cocktail reception to share their insights, contribute to future learnings, and connect with others seeking their expertise.
