Press Contact
Linda Armstrong Cross
Director of PR/Media Relations
(617) 998-8530
linda_cross@harvard.edu
This page contains content from the 2008–09 academic year. For current information, visit the Harvard Extension School website at www.extension.harvard.edu.
2008-09 News and Events
May 2009
Attend the third annual Master of Liberal Arts Thesis Forum
May 26–28 — At this three-day event, co-sponsored by the Harvard Extension School graduate degree programs and the Harvard Extension School Student Association, many of our outstanding Master of Liberal Arts candidates will present their thesis research to the Harvard community.
Advanced student book art exhibit opens
May 19–June 2 — Created by advanced students in STAR E-113 Book Art II, the Installed Book is an exhibition of handmade books that create and narrate experiences, memories, lives, and living through explorations of sequence, rhythm, space, and form.
Students exhibit Book Art
May 12–18 — Students in STAR E-112 Book Art I present their final assignment 20 Books VI, an exhibit showcasing the students’ handmade books that tell stories through images and text.
Apply to a program through May 15
Through May 15, students can apply to a degree or certificate program for which they have completed (or will complete by the end of the spring term) the three prerequisite courses and admission requirements.
Student, grad screen films at ARTS FIRST
May 2 — This coming weekend April 30–May 3, 2009, ARTS FIRST, Harvard’s annual arts festival, will feature hundreds of performers from around the University, including several members of the Harvard Extension School community. ARTS FIRST is one of the largest university art festivals in the country.
Registration now open for Harvard Summer School courses
Take a class at Harvard this summer. Registration for Harvard Summer School courses runs through May 26.
April 2009
Attend the 2009 Lowell Lecture “Obama’s Challenge: Prospects for Economic Success”
April 30 — Robert Kuttner, the distinguished author of the recently published Obama’s Challenge: America’s Economic Crisis and the Power of a Transformative Presidency, draws from his writing to deliver the 2009 Lowell Lecture at Harvard. He will address the economic challenges facing the nation, and the political challenges of rising to the occasion.
New ALM concentrations announced for 2009–10
April 28 — The Harvard Extension School announces four new concentrations in its Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) program beginning with the 2009–10 academic year. The new concentrations include international relations, legal studies, visual arts, and clinical psychology.
Negotiation and Leadership Conference 2009
April 25 — Harvard Extension Service and Leadership Society presents the Negotiation and Leadership Conference 2009, which will feature a number of well-known keynote speakers and Extension School faculty members.
Civil liberties guest lecture series
April 9 — The general public has been invited to a guest lecture series presented by the Extension School course LSTU E-104 Guarding Our Civil Liberties, taught by Robert M. Bonin, attorney and partner for Bonin & Marashian.
Pojasek to chair board of national corporate responsibility organization
April 8 — Robert B. Pojasek, renowned sustainability expert and Harvard Extension School environmental management faculty member, has been named to the board of governors of the Corporate Responsibility Officers Association (CRO), a cross-industry group of experts who aim to raise standards and awareness within the corporate responsibility professions.
Tinkers by Paul Harding: Author’s debut shines
April 6 — Harvard Extension School writing instructor Paul Harding’s first novel is creating quite a buzz in the literary industry.
Environmental lecture explores the Precautionary Principle
April 6 — The Precautionary Principle has sparked controversy worldwide between those who argue that it’s better to be safe than sorry, and those who argue that we can end up sorry that we are trying to be too safe. Joel A. Tickner, one of the leading proponents of the Precautionary Principle, will discuss this controversial idea in an upcoming guest lecture at Harvard.
Changes to degree and certificate programs announced
April 3 — Beginning with the new academic year, 2009–10, Harvard Extension School will be phasing out its certificate programs and introducing new degree requirements for the master’s degree in management.
March 2009
Environmental program adds “Sustainability” to name
March 24 — To better reflect burgeoning aspects of the Harvard Extension School’s Graduate Program in Environmental Management that focus on sustainable building and managing for sustainability, the program will officially change its name to Sustainability and Environmental Management Program beginning in the 2009–10 academic year.
Expedition: Blue Planet 2009
March 18 — When environmental advocate Alexandra Cousteau left last month on a nonstop, 100-day expedition to critical water sites across five continents, she brought with her with a writer, a photographer, an editor, and a support team of more than 60 researchers, all Harvard Extension School students.
ART offers discount tickets to Endgame
Through March 15 — The American Repertory Theatre (ART) offers Harvard Extension School students $10 off admission to the current production of Samuel Beckett’s Endgame, described by critics as “surprisingly, gaspingly funny” (Boston Globe), “post-apocalyptic vaudeville” (Boston Herald), and “simply stunning” (Berkshire Fine Arts).
School receives national marketing award
March 13 — The Harvard Extension School has received a bronze award for its 2008–09 Harvard Extension School website, as well as a bronze award for its 2008–09 environmental management program brochure (with design by Sawyer Design, Inc.), in the University Continuing Education Association’s national 2009 Marketing and Publications Awards competition.
Spring Break: From ENGL to England
March 9 — While much of the University takes a welcome respite from teaching and learning this spring break, one well-loved Harvard Extension School faculty member maintains the momentum for her literature course by bringing the texts to life in an optional field trip to London. Departing March 19, Sue Weaver Schopf, associate dean of University Extension and instructor for ENGL E-121 Masterworks of Western Drama, shares her passion for the topic as she leads her students to England on a one-week theater tour to visit sites connected with the plays they have been reading in class.
Discounted gym membership available to Extension School students through March 24
March 6 — Wellbridge Athletic Club is offering all Harvard Extension School students discounted student memberships and $50 off enrollment, plus a complimentary Ogio bag if you enroll before March 24. Along with these discounts, each member receives two complimentary personal training sessions, one nutrition assessment, and one swim lesson.
February 2009
Professor Fash earns lifetime achievement award
February 9 — Distinguished Harvard Extension School anthropology and archaeology professor William Fash is the recipient of the prestigious Hoja de Laurel de Oro award, given by the government of Honduras for lifetime achievement.
January 2009
Have breakfast at the ART
January 29 — Enjoy breakfast and a play at the ART! The American Repertory Theatre (ART) is offering fall and spring term Harvard Extension School students half price tickets to their 10 am, Thursday, January 29, production of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull. This special offer includes a 9:30 am breakfast and a post-show talkback.
Niall Ferguson traces the history of money in new PBS documentary
January 13 — Author, economist, historian, and Harvard Extension School faculty member, Niall Ferguson traces the evolution of money and demonstrates that financial history is the essential back-story behind all history—including the current economic crises—in the new PBS documentary, The Ascent of Money, premiering January 13 on PBS and online at PBS.org.
Have you checked out our new courses?
January 13 — This spring brings many new courses and new faculty to the Harvard Extension School from across the curriculum. Esteemed faculty include professors from the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Divinity School, and Harvard Law School, as well as presidents and chief executives from area non-profit and for-profit organizations.
Learn about our programs at January information sessions
Various dates in January — Throughout January, Extension School degree and certificate programs host information sessions for interested students, at which advisors provide an overview of their programs and answer questions. Most of the sessions are held at 51 Brattle Street, in the Grossman Common Room, on the second floor.
December 2008
New courses examine today’s realities
December 16 — A number of new courses in the 2008–09 Harvard Extension School curriculum provide content that responds to current trends, events, issues, and practices.
History of Science Society honors instructor Sara Schechner
December 9 — Sara Schechner, a Harvard Extension School museum studies instructor, was awarded the 2008 Joseph H. Hazen Education Prize by the venerable History of Science Society. Schechner, who co-teaches MUSE E-100 Introduction to Museum Studies this spring, is the David P. Wheatland Curator of the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments in the Department of History of Science at Harvard University.
New book probes Douglass, Lincoln friendship
December 9 — John Stauffer, professor of English and of African and African American studies at Harvard University, and an Extension School faculty member, has published a new book, Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, which explores the history of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass’ brief but significant friendship.
October 2008
New York Times article features Extension School, alumna
October 29 — Nationwide, the number of graduate students who are older than 50 grew by 38 percent between 2001 and 2005, according to the National Center for Education Statistics and an article in the New York Times. Times writer Christine Larson recently explored this phenomenon, interviewing people across the country including Suzanne Koven, ALM ’08, who is a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital.
September 2008
A new class explores life, liberty, and happiness after the digital explosion
September 12 — “It is now possible, in principle, to remember everything that anyone says, writes, sings, draws, or photographs. Everything.” So say authors Hal Abelson, Ken Ledeen, and Harry R. Lewis, PhD, Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science at Harvard University, in their newly released book, Blown to Bits: Your Life, Liberty, and Happiness after the Digital Explosion. Lewis brings his expertise to the Harvard Extension School this fall in the course, CSCI E-2a Life, Liberty, and Happiness after the Digital Explosion.
Harvard University sponsors Constitution Day lecture
September 17 — For Constitution Day 2008, renowned Constitutional scholar and well-known author Cass Sunstein, Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, is presenting a lecture titled “Self-government.com: Free Speech in the Age of the Internet.”
This fall’s evolutionary biology offerings benefit life science professionals
September 12 — Harvard Extension School is offering three new courses in evolutionary biology this fall. “Life science professionals in all fields will benefit from a better understanding of the process of evolution and the algorithms that are used to make inferences about the relatedness of organisms, genes, and proteins,” says Cheryl Vaughan, director of the graduate degree program in biotechnology and assistant director for science instruction at the Harvard Extension School.
Alumnus’ theater company to perform in Boston
July 26 and September 5 — Professional mask maker and Master of Liberal Srts alumnus Eric Bornstein, ’00, is the founder of Behind the Mask Theatre, an award-winning group that performs the family-friendly Three Cats of Venice in two open-air shows in Boston this summer.
August 2008
Dean Shinagel awarded honorary degree
August 22 — The Academic Board of Universidad Alta Direccion (Panama) voted to award a doctoral degree honoris causa to Michael Shinagel, Dean of Continuing Education and University Extension, Harvard University, in recognition of his “outstanding job in educating executives all over Central and South America.”
Harvard Technology Services honors Massachusetts sales tax holiday
August 16–17 — During the Massachusetts sales tax holiday August 16 and 17, the state’s 5 percent sales tax on purchases of $2,500 or less will be suspended for purchases made from Harvard Technology Services.
Master of Liberal Arts degree candidate wins top prize in essay competition
August 11 — Greg Robson, a Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) degree candidate at the Extension School, is the first prize winner in the graduate category of the SEVEN Fund’s Enterprise Based Solutions to Poverty Essays Competition. Robson, who was awarded $20,000 for this distinction, co-wrote the winning essay with Harvard Divinity School graduate student and wife, Karina.
Dean Comeau, head of management programs, retires August 15
August 8 — After nearly three decades of dedicated service, Raymond F. Comeau will retire from his position as associate dean of the Harvard Extension School’s graduate management programs on August 15.
Extension School faculty read their works in Harvard Square
July 30 and August 4 — Two Harvard Extension School writing faculty members will be giving live readings of their works on campus this summer. Both events are free and open to all members of the Harvard community.
July 2008
Musical theater students host benefit cabaret this weekend
July 25 and 26 — Ten current and former Harvard Extension School students from various musical theater courses are putting on a show this Friday and Saturday night to benefit the spouse of a student who is in need of a kidney transplant.
Why We Love Robots—NPR interview with faculty member Matthew Battles
July 22 — Harvard Extension School faculty member Matthew Battles was interviewed on NPR’s Talk of the Nation, and spoke about how the animators in the movie WALL-E made a trash compactor attached to binoculars cute and cuddly.
Extension School faculty member takes critical look at war in PBS series
July 2 — Niall Ferguson is taking a critical look at twentieth-century violence in a new television series for PBS titled “The War of the World.”
June 2008
Lowell Lecture podcasts available on iTunes U
June 19 — Podcasts of three Harvard Extension School Lowell Lectures are now available at Harvard Extension on iTunes U.
Extension School graduates participate in Commencement
June 9 — Harvard Extension School graduated 481 in Harvard’s Commencement activities on June 5.
2007–08
You can also read the archived news stories and events from the 2007-08 school year.