Harvard University

From BluSkyPedia

It is the oldest University in United States. It was established in 1636 and is arguably the most prestigious university in the world. It is a member of the Ivy League. Named after John Harvard, the university originally was primarily for training clergy. Harvard has the largest endowment of any academic institution. At one point it was as large as $40 billion. The recent financial downturn has lowered its value and recently it has been in the $25 billion range. Harvard's endowment is invested in a wide range of investments that make it difficult to know exactly how much money they have. During the huge stock market plunge of 2008 Harvard lost approximately $8 billion-$16 billion. Some reports suggest that Harvard lost nearly 50% of its endowment during that timeframe.

Approximately 6 to 7000 undergraduate students attend Harvard each year. There are 13,000 to 14,000 graduate level students at the school. Classes are taught by over 2000 faculty members. Harvard has a strong reputation for producing notable alumni. Eight United States presidents are Harvard alums and 75 Nobel laureates have been associated with the university in one way or another. Harvard is also the alma mater of more billionaires than any other school in the country.

The library at Harvard is the largest of any academic institution and the second largest in the United States. It was built by the donation from a family whose son attended Harvard and died on the Titanic. Unfortunately at the time of its design the mechanics of keeping old books preserved were not well understood. The library was designed to let in lots of light and fresh air–two items that are very harmful to old books. More recently it has been redesigned to help eliminate the distraction to books and while the retrofitted library is functional it lacks some of the appeal of the original design.

Harvard University is located in Cambridge Massachusetts. For all practical purposes it in a suburb of Boston.

Up until 1977 Harvard did not allow women. Radcliffe College was associated with Harvard and some women were allowed to take classes at Harvard University. Right-click college was founded as “Harvard Annex for women”. The admissions were merged in 1977 although Radcliffe College wasn't formally merged with Harvard until 1999. In 2007 the first woman to be president of Harvard College was named.

Frequently asked questions about Harvard University

Where is Harvard University?

Harvard University is located in Cambridge, MA which is located near Boston, MA.

Did Bill Gates graduate from Harvard University?

No. He attended, but then dropped out to found Microsoft.

What city has Harvard University?

Cambridge, Massachusetts is the city where Harvard is located.

What state is Harvard University in?

Harvard is located in the state of Massachusetts.