Welcome Back

Dear colleagues,

I hope the winter break offered some time for rest. As we begin the spring semester, I want to thank you for your patience and steadiness through a period that has asked a great deal of our community. Today I am writing to update you on our ongoing efforts to adapt the FAS to a new environment.

We are already seeing early signs of progress from several efforts launched last year. The Faculty Resources Committee and the Research Continuity Committee have both played important roles in sharpening our understanding of the financial and research landscapes, including longstanding challenges such as the reduction of available unrestricted funds and a structural deficit that will take a deliberate, sustained, multiyear effort to address.

We are now moving from analysis to action. One important example is the Task Force on Workforce Planning, which is reimagining how we organize the essential operations of the FAS administrative structure alongside staff support for teaching and research. This work has been guided by the insight of our staff, whose practical understanding of our systems has informed the effort from the start. As the Task Force enters its second phase, more than 80 staff and faculty members are now leading 10 detailed design teams to create structures that are more coordinated and effective, that support clearer career paths for staff, and that build capacity for ambitious academic priorities. I am deeply grateful for the time, expertise, and thoughtfulness that so many staff and faculty have brought to this work.

Graduate education has also been an area of focused attention. I recognize that decisions made last year about admissions levels were difficult. Looking ahead, continued progress on academic planning, more active use of restricted funds, and renewed philanthropic momentum give me reason for cautious optimism that we can increase FAS-based Ph.D. admissions from current levels.

Graduate student support is a top priority for faculty across our Divisions and SEAS. That’s why I am excited to launch a matching challenge to raise Ph.D. fellowships in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, in partnership with the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. We have already secured $50 million in matching funds from alumni who are committed to supporting this priority, with the goal of raising an additional $50 million for new graduate fellowships. This initiative reflects a shift from responding to constraints to investing strategically in our core academic activities.

Alongside this work, we continue to advance priorities at the heart of our mission. Efforts to re-center academics in the College – guided by the FAS Classroom Social Compact Report and supported by collaboration across the College, the Bok Center, the Office for Faculty Affairs, and our divisions and departments – are strengthening the learning environment for our undergraduate students. AI initiatives in teaching, research, and administration are opening new possibilities for how we work across the FAS. In the months ahead, we will be looking for opportunities to innovate and expand our educational mission to new learners and new audiences around the world through the Harvard Division of Continuing Education.

As we start this new term, I am grateful for the spirit of collaboration across the FAS. By working together, guided by a clear sense of purpose, we can face our challenges and emerge even stronger – more innovative in our research, more creative in our teaching, and more strategic and aligned in our administrative systems and processes.

Thank you for your partnership and the deep commitment that you bring to our mission every day.

With best wishes for the semester,

Hopi

Hopi Hoekstra
Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences
C. Y. Chan Professor of Arts and Science
Xiaomeng Tong and Yu Chen Professor of Life Sciences