Program
Thursday, February 26*
Harvard Museum of Natural History
26 Oxford Street
Cambridge, Massachusetts
6:00 p.m. | Museum Tour and Welcome Dinner for the WPI Founders' Circle
Join an after-hours tour of Harvard’s most visited attraction and get a closer look at its incomparable collections, led by eminent life scientist Hopi Hoekstra, Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and Caroline Fernald, executive director of the Harvard Museum of Science and Culture. This is a special chance to spark your curiosity through discovery and conversation with fellow Founders before our Friday program.
*Please note that this invitation is specifically for WPI Founders' Circle donors; we are unable to extend the invitation for Thursday's events to additional guests.
Learn more about how you can join the WPI Founders' Circle.
Friday, February 27
Senior Class x WPI Breakfast & Fun Run**
Lowell Junior Common Room
10 Holyoke Place
Cambridge, Massachusetts
8:30–9:00 a.m. | Networking Breakfast
Coffee, fruit, and pastries will be provided.
9:00–10:00 a.m. | Run or Walk the Eliot Bridge Loop
The Junior Common Room is reserved until 10:00am for anyone who wants to continue mingling over coffee before registration for the Summit Program opens at the Charles Hotel.
**Please note that the Senior Class x WPI Breakfast & Fun Run requires separate registration, even if you have already registered for the main program. Please use the Mill Street entrance of Lowell House and contact Sarah Bates Johnson with questions.
Register for Senior Class x WPI Breakfast & Fun Run
10:00 a.m. | Program Registration
The Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Cambridge, Massachusetts
10:30 a.m. | Life at the College: Exploring Perspective, Building Community, and Empowering Women Leaders
Discover some of the latest ways Harvard is championing unparalleled student experiences and women in leadership from Dean of Students Tom Dunne, Director of the Harvard Foundation Bonnie Talbert, and several undergraduates.
Noon | Networking Lunch
Catch up with peers and make new connections over lunch.
1:15 p.m. | Faculty Session: What’s at Stake for Scientific Breakthroughs
Can we regrow limbs and repair organs? Find out what Harvard biologists are learning from salamanders—and what it could mean for humans. Professor Whited will share how her lab’s findings could lead to new possibilities for regenerative medicine and what’s at stake for future discoveries.
2:00 p.m. | Faculty Session: What’s Next for Our Global Economy
Learn more about challenges facing our economy from a leading researcher and former expert at the International Monetary Fund. Professor Gopinath will share her latest work in international finance and macroeconomics, and why she’s returned to the classroom to train Harvard’s next generation of economists.
3:00 p.m. | Friendship Across Difference: An Interactive Session
Participate in an interactive session with Professor Beerbohm, senior advisor on civil discourse, who will guide us through simulations of challenging situations in classrooms and on campus. He’ll also provide insight into how the College is fostering more open, respectful dialogue within the student community.
4:00 p.m. | Break, Bond, and Beyond
Use this intentional pause in the program to recharge in whatever way serves you best—take a restorative break, deepen connections with fellow Summit participants, or venture out to explore campus with our curated list of nearby highlights.
6:00 p.m. | Closing Dinner with Dean Hoekstra
All are invited to hear more about Dean Hoekstra’s vision for the year ahead, how she’s thinking about the future of science, the ways Harvard is preparing students for a rapidly changing world, and efforts to ensure access at the College. She’ll also share more about our newest class of undergraduates and the work to recenter academics in life at the College.
