Harvard History

“Those who founded the nation’s first non-sectarian theological school in 1816 would be astounded by this gathering, which represents these ever-widening circles of inclusion.” Harvard President Claudine Gay shared those words while addressing a crowd of...

In the summer of 1820, Rev. Samuel Joseph May, a recent Harvard Divinity School graduate, was invited by Nahant summer residents to provide the town’s first Christian worship services. Ten years later, May made a name for himself as a preacher and joined...

Harvard Divinity School senior lecturer Dan P. McKanan discussed the role slavery played in the school’s founding in a lecture Monday evening. The talk is the third event in the “Religion and the Legacies of Slavery” series, which aims to host...

The Past, Present, and Future of the Women's Studies in Religion Program The history of women at Harvard Divinity School is relatively brief, but the Women's Studies in Religion Program (WSRP)—founded in 1973—has ensured that the roles of women and gender...

Harvard Divinity School marked the opening of the 2022-23 academic year with its 207th Convocation. Harvard Radcliffe Institute Dean Tomiko Brown-Nagin delivered the address, titled "Legacies of Slavery: Bondage and Resistance." Brown-Nagin chaired the...

“Our capacity to understand and dismantle contemporary injustice depends on our ability and our willingness to reckon with our past,” said Harvard Radcliffe Institute Dean Tomiko Brown-Nagin, during HDS's 207th Convocation ceremony.

When Harvard Radcliffe Institute Dean Tomiko Brown-Nagin delivers Harvard Divinity School’s 2022 Convocation address on September 1, she will encourage students to “take up the mantle of their predecessors who fought for equity and justice.” Brown-Nagin...

In 2021, HDS completed a comprehensive renovation and expansion of Swartz Hall, which included significant preservation work.

Archie C. Epps III, STB '61, was one of few Black senior administrators in Harvard's history, becoming Dean of Students in 1971. At age 32, he was one of the youngest appointments in the school’s history—and his term as dean one of the most eventful.