#  Initiatives 

 



##  FAS Initiatives 

 

 

       ![panel in smith campus center in front of student audience ](/sites/g/files/omnuum716/files/styles/hwp_21_9__1920x825/public/2024-04/DSC2442-dadacf9052678ed9.jpeg?itok=o8LOI4U1) 

 

 



 

 



 

The academic community of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) is characterized by excellence across the full breadth of liberal arts and sciences disciplines. Initiatives of the FAS Dean reach across to advance new conversations, new insights, and new opportunities for our teaching and research mission. The FAS’s priorities evolve alongside our community and reflect some of the most important conversations we are having today.



 

   

To be academically ambitious is to take risks. The most exciting parts of what we do are about following our curiosity into the unknown, tackling big unanswered questions, telling important untold stories, being willing to try something no one else has tried.

 

Hopi Hoekstra

Edgerley Family Dean of the FAS, C.Y. Chan Professor of Arts and Sciences, Xiaomeng Tong and Yu Chen Professor of Life Sciences

 

 



 

 

 

### AI @ FAS 

 

Generative AI is a transformative technology. The FAS is exploring the significant opportunities and challenges that span the economic, regulatory, ethical, and societal domains in conversations across the full breadth of our community.



 [ Learn more about AI @ FAS arrow\_circle\_right ](/gai) 

 



      ![Person at a laptop with floating visuals from the screen](/sites/g/files/omnuum716/files/styles/hwp_1_1__480x480/public/2025-04/AdobeStock_1070020887.jpeg?h=4d67f041&itok=Hi8N4Wh1) 

 

 

  

 



 

 

 

### Civil Discourse 

 

The FAS aims to create an inclusive environment that promotes critical thinking, empathy, and mutual understanding.



 [ Learn more about Civil Discourse arrow\_circle\_right ](/civil-discourse) 

 



      ![Professor Michael Sandel teaching a class](/sites/g/files/omnuum716/files/styles/hwp_1_1__480x480/public/2024-03/Sandel_0361-01d327600f2a3e29.jpg?itok=F7XiWVly) 

 

 

  

 



 

 

 

### Visual Culture 

 

Whether in a physical or online environment, visual culture can foster a sense of pride and belonging within a community. On a university campus like the FAS, it shapes the experiences of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and visitors by honoring the past and signaling the ideals and values deemed important to the academic community in the present.



 [ Learn more about Visual Culture arrow\_circle\_right ](/visual-culture) 

 



      ![FAS Shield and Lowell House Tower ](/sites/g/files/omnuum716/files/styles/hwp_1_1__480x480/public/2025-01/030707_Features_KS_061_0.jpg?h=608d231f&itok=ydNsPBsp) 

 

 

  

 



 

 

 

##  In the News 

 



  [### In Wake of Public Outrage, Professor Sees Hope for Democracy

 ](https://current.fas.harvard.edu/stories/wake-public-outrage-professor-sees-hope-democracy) June 10, 2026 

 

   ![Taeku Lee](/sites/g/files/omnuum716/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2026-06/Taeku%20Lee-1.jpg?h=6e135fc8&itok=tMIHvfQT) 

 



 

 

   [### Expanded Access to Generative AI Tools at FAS

 ](/news/2026/05/expanded-access-generative-ai-tools-fas) May 06, 2026 

 

   ![View of a laptop with coding terminal on screen](/sites/g/files/omnuum716/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2026-05/coding_laptop.jpg?h=34fc914e&itok=ce8nPaPd) 

 



 

 

   [### Six FAS Faculty Named 2026 Guggenheim Fellows

 ](/news/2026/04/six-fas-faculty-named-2026-guggenheim-fellows) April 16, 2026 

 

   ![A collage of headshots featuring Anya Bernstein, Mina Cikara, Adam Mestyan, Daniel Ziblatt, Namwali Serpell, and Gina Schouten](/sites/g/files/omnuum716/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2026-05/Guggenheim%20FAS.jpg?itok=n6o56C1t) 

 



 

 

  

 

 [ View All News arrow\_circle\_right ](/all-news-and-announcements) 

 

 

 

 

##  Support the FAS 

Harvard remains a place of unlimited possibility because of our dedicated community. Alumni, parents, and friends make it possible for the FAS to invest in talented students and faculty and to ensure they have what they need to do their best work.

[Learn how to support the FAS](/support-fas "Support the FAS")