#  FAS Faculty Meeting (Feb. 3, 2026) 

 





February 06, 2026

 

 

Helming her first Faculty Meeting of the spring term, Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) Hopi Hoekstra recognized the work of faculty committees undertaken over the past year to understand the academic, financial, and operational opportunities and challenges facing the FAS. She noted a number of examples of how these efforts enable the FAS to move from “diagnosis to decisions, and from planning to investment.”

In this category was an announcement made earlier in the day of a new alumni-led match initiative to fundraise for Ph.D. fellowships in the FAS and SEAS. FAS Dean of Development Michael Faber, invited to detail the Research Accelerator Challenge, received a round of applause for what he hopes is a “downpayment on more ambitious fundraising for Ph.D.s.”

“We’re building the plane and flying the plane at the same time,” he said, noting that the initiative came to fruition in only eight weeks.

Additionally, Hoekstra said the Division of Continuing Education, led by Dean of Harvard Extension School and Continuing Education Nancy Coleman, would embark on a strategic planning exercise to study approaches to bolster financial contributions to the FAS’ teaching and research mission. Hoekstra also noted that in the second phase of the Task Force on Workforce Planning’s work, a team of more than 80 staff and faculty are identifying ways to build a more effective administrative model “to create structures that are more coordinated and effective, that support clearer career paths for staff, and are going to build financial capacity for our ambitious academic priorities.”

Karen Thornber, Richard L. Menschel Faculty Director of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning and Harry Tuchman Levin Professor in Literature and of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, gave updates on a range of the Center’s activities including: partnering with faculty to design AI-resilient assignments and projects to enable students to go far beyond what was previously possible in their courses; defining and developing effective teaching and learning strategies that foreground civil discourse and recenter academics; and, notably, TF and TA training. In AY25-26, she noted, the Bok Center trained nearly all TAs/TFs new to teaching in the FAS (close to 700) as part of the Center’s new required Pedagogy in Practice program, and next academic year expects to train all TAs/TFs teaching in the FAS (approximately 1,200).

Conor Walsh, Paul A. Maeder Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Faculty Director of the Move Lab at SEAS, gave an inspiring research talk on his mobility work that sits at the intersection of biomechanics, engineering and design. He praised the cross-collaboration among schools in Boston and beyond, and hoped faculty in the audience would imagine an opportunity to work with his Move Lab. Walsh studies marathon runners, military veterans, stroke survivors, individuals with ALS, and patients with Parkinson’s Disease who suffer from a symptom known as FOG, or “freezing of gait.”

“A soft robotic exosuit developed by Conor’s team helps Parkinson’s patients walk more smoothly, take longer steps, and — most strikingly — eliminate freezing episodes,” Hoekstra said, by way of introducing Walsh. “That’s just one example of what happens when deep scientific insight meets empathy, creativity, and a real commitment to improving lives.”

Earlier in the meeting, Memorial Minutes were read for Carter Joel Eckert, Yoon Se Young Professor of Korean History, Emeritus, and Nikolaas Johannes van der Merwe, Landon T. Clay Professor of Scientific Archeology, Emeritus.



 

 

 



 

 See also:- [ Faculty Meetings ](/news-categories/faculty-meetings)