Nation & World

All Nation & World

  • Moot points, well made

    The Harvard Law School teams in the showdown round of the Ames Moot Court Competition tried to persuade a panel headed by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to change the law of the land.

  • Conservatism is in ‘crisis’

    Andrew Sullivan, political commentator and blogger with The Daily Beast, gave the 2011 Theodore H. White Lecture on Press and Politics at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum on Thursday.

  • Rewarding nation’s problem-solvers

    Finalists for the Innovations in American Government Award presented their initiatives today at the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) before the National Selection Committee, chaired by Anthony Williams, the former mayor of Washington, D.C.

  • Obama’s narrative

    Mixing historical perspective, personal reminiscence, and psychological analysis, Harvard Law School Professor Charles J. Ogletree Jr. kicked off a three-part lecture series titled “Understanding Obama” Tuesday at the Barker Center as part of the Nathan I. Huggins Lecture Series.

  • The return of ROTC

    Among the top Harvard stories of 2011 was the return of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) to campus after an absence of 40 years. In March, the University signed an agreement with the Navy. By September, offices had opened in Hilles Hall for the Naval ROTC’s Old Ironsides Battalion.

  • Harvard goes to war

    Harvard University’s expansive role in World War II, from research to recruits, helped the Allies to triumph.

  • To honor the living and the dead

    A ceremony on 11/11/11 at the Memorial Church will dedicate a tablet honoring Harvard’s 17 Medal of Honor recipients and also will celebrate the return of an ROTC presence to campus.

  • Harvard’s startup upstart

    Gordon Jones, director of the new Harvard Innovation Lab, has ideas on how to foster an entrepreneurial mentality at the country’s oldest university.

  • Travel as its own education

    A Harvard undergrad explains how visiting other lands has helped to shape her College experience.

  • ‘One country, two systems’

    Hong Kong chief executive Donald Tsang touts onetime Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping’s “one country, two systems” philosophy for his area’s economic fortitude.

  • Status quo blues

    Americans suffering through a fourth year of economic hardship and worried about the future are closer than ever to casting aside both major political parties in favor of a post-partisan ticket in the 2012 presidential race, a panel of political experts told an audience at Harvard Kennedy School.

  • Legacy of an Indonesian tsunami

    A five-year follow-up study of children orphaned by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami says that older children and younger girls were most affected, with lower school achievement, higher rates of work outside the home for boys, and earlier marriage and work inside the home for girls.

  • A matter of principals

    A group of educators and administrators explored the role of principals in promoting effective teaching and learning in the nation’s primary and secondary schools during a discussion at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

  • A better welcome home

    As the country prepares to welcome home large numbers of servicemen and servicewomen from Iraq this winter, the Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation held a conference, “A Better Welcome Home: Transformative Models to Support Veterans and Their Families,” which explored approaches to help veterans connect to their communities and leverage their strengths in a tough job market.

  • Lessons from a leader

    At an event sponsored by the Women’s Initiative in Leadership at Harvard’s Institute of Politics, President Drew Faust discussed qualities that make a great leader and offered insights into her own role heading Harvard.

  • Where town meets gown

    A Radcliffe and Rappaport symposium explored the important city-university relationship, and areas where each side can benefit the other.

  • Forces beyond nations

    Most people would say they live in a globalized world, but a sociology professor favors the model of a denationalized world in which regional organizations increasingly predominate.

  • Lessons from a Kenyan slum

    A sprawling urban pocket of poverty offers a timeless lesson: talent is universal, but opportunity is not.

  • Frank look at marijuana laws

    Prohibitions on marijuana use do more harm than good, and it’s time the federal government stepped away from the issue altogether, Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., told a crowd at Harvard Law School Oct. 18.

  • Beyond the kitchen, to the B-School

    Renowned chef Ferran Adrià visited Harvard Business School Oct. 13 to announce a challenge to business students: a competition to design the new venture that will expand his creative and culinary empire.

  • Wanted: Ways to battle corruption

    The Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics is offering $8,000 in prizes for novel ideas on how to monitor and undercut institutional corruption.

  • 7 billion, and climbing

    U.N. official Babatunde Osotimehin says that educating women and girls worldwide is a critical step in slowing population growth.

  • The 99 percent solution

    Occupy Wall Street, the inspiration for hundreds of similar economic protests, is “an angry work in progress” that drew experts’ attention during two programs at Harvard.

  • Teaching the teachers

    Charged with enhancing undergraduate education in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning annually assists scores of faculty members and teaching fellows.

  • Widening national security concerns

    A new collaboration between Harvard Law School and the Brookings Institution hopes to help define the widening, post-9/11 reality of what constitutes a threat to society.

  • Designated Drivers

    Barry R. Bloom Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor Joan L. and Julius H. Jacobson Professor of Public Health, Harvard School of Public Health

  • Alumni win Nobel Prize for economics

    Two alumni of Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, who received their Ph.D.s from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, won the Nobel Prize for economics Oct. 10, 2011 for their work on change and the macroeconomy.

  • Sirleaf wins Nobel Peace Prize

    Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Harvard Kennedy School alumna, is one of three recipients of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote peace, democracy, and women’s rights.

  • Roundtable airs immigration, research funding issues

    A small group of business and higher education leaders met in Washington to discuss the importance of attracting the world’s best students, the economic stimulus provided by government-funded research, and the safeguards of intellectual property protection.

  • Cantor: University research a key for jobs

    House Majority Leader Eric Cantor says that universities and businesses are key contributors to the innovation that drives economic growth in this country but that congressional attention to research funding will have to wait until broader budget talks are completed.