One Mission, 100 Years

Centennial Media

Convocation coverage

Harvard Extension School formally kicked off its centennial year with a convocation on September 25. In the ceremony, faculty, alumni, students, and administrators reflected on the important role the Extension School has played in their lives and in Harvard’s history. See the videos and read the press coverage below.

Introductory remarks


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“New opportunities, extended to us without limit”

Dorothy Austin, associate minister of Harvard’s Memorial Church, delivers the invocation. (1:42 mins.)


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“The gates remain unbarred”

Dean Michael Shinagel summarizes his retrospective book on Harvard Extension School. (9:26 mins.)


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“The benefits of universities should be extended beyond their walls”

Harvard President Drew Faust honors the strong tradition of University Extension at Harvard. (5 mins.)

Alumni and student perspectives


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“Today, we need to be lifetime students”

Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, a 1993 graduate, shares how much his Extension School studies meant to him. (5:26 mins.)


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“It was more than a degree I needed”

Latanya Sweeney, ALB ’95, found through Harvard Extension a path to a PhD program at MIT and a tenure-track professorship. (6:40 mins.)


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“My fellow students have enriched my life”

M. Sandra Klemm, ALB ’00 and ALM candidate, worked full time and raised her sister while earning a bachelor’s degree. (7:08 mins.)

Harvard faculty on teaching at Extension


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“The most laudable thing that Harvard University does”

William L. Fash Jr., an anthropology professor at Harvard, relishes teaching his evening courses at Extension. (4:18 mins.)


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“Extension students are intellectually stimulating, provocative, and alive”

Reverend Peter Gomes, Memorial Church minister and a professor at Harvard, tips his hat to Extension’s democratic mission. (13:23 mins.)

In the press

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