Text of the President's Report

On November 21, 1932 President A. Lawrence Lowell tendered his resignation to this Board, in June he presided for the last time over the Commencement exercises, and on September 1, he turned over to his successor the direction of the University. With profound sorrow the Harvard community realized that this was to be the last year of Mr. Lowell's wise leadership. It is unnecessary for me to enumerate the many accomplishments of his administration. Almost twenty thousand men have graduated from Harvard College during the presidency of Mr. Lowell, and these alumni can testify to the marvelous change he wrought in the attitude of the undergraduates towards scholarship. This he accomplished by the modification of the elective system, the introduction of the tutorial system, the establishment of the Freshman dormitories, and finally by the inauguration of the House Plan. The whole University has felt the dominating personality of the President and rejoiced in the free and vigorous intellectual atmosphere which his firm stand insured even in times of great stress. An eventful and significant epoch in Harvard History has closed. We who inherit the fruits of his labors unite in wishing President Lowell a long life and much happiness in the well-earned rest of his retirement.

Harvard's Aim--To Advance and Perpetuate Learning

Since this is my first annual report as President of the University, it may not be inappropriate if I discuss certain general problems in regard to our future. According to the account written nearly three hundred years ago, Harvard was founded "to advance learning and perpetuate it to posterity." We can all agree that these few admirable words still describe our aims, although the methods of advancing learning and the modes of perpetuating it have changed greatly in the course of three centuries. Our Puritan ancestors thought of education and theology as inseparably connected. It is hard for us to recapture their point of view; today, learning has become secular. Indeed, the universities are now the residuary legatees of many of the spiritual values which were guarded by the church three centuries ago. Our responsibilities are correspondingly increased and our ideals must be clearly defined. If future generations are to have that high regard for the achievements of the human mind which is essential to civilization, there must be a true reverence for learning in the community. It is not sufficient to train investigators and scholars, no matter how brilliant they may be; a large body of influential citizens must have a passionate interest in the growth of human knowledge. It is our ambition to inspire the undergraduates in Harvard College with an enthusiasm for creative scholarship and a respect for the accumulated intellectual treasures of the past. This is one way in which we today perpetuate learning to posterity.

No Separation of Faculty Between Teaching and Research

Learning must be advanced as well as perpetuated. Indeed, in the last analysis it is only by advancing learning that it is possible to perpetuate it. When knowledge ceases to expand and develop, it becomes devitalized, degraded, and a matter of little importance to the present or future. The community loses interest, and the youth of the country responds to other challenges. Able young men enlist in an enterprise only if they are persuaded that they, too, may contribute by creative work. A zest for intellectual adventure should be the characteristic of every university. In the future as in the past, teachers must be scholars who are extending the frontiers of knowledge in every direction. I hope there will never be a separation of our faculty into those who teach and those who carry on creative work. No line should be drawn between teaching and research. Our strength in the past has lain in the fact that the spirit of scholarship has pervaded our teaching and our scholars have seen the importance of perpetuating the ideals of scholarship as well as advancing knowledge in their own specialty.

The Ideal University--Great Scholars and Able Students

A university is a group of men--a community of scholars and students--and here lies the real problem in regard to the future of all institutions of higher learning. Harvard's success will depend almost entirely on our ability to procure men of the highest caliber for our student body and for our faculty. We have been fortunate in the past, largely due to the wisdom of my predecessors but partly in virtue of the historical accident of our early development. For a long period, also, Cambridge was located more nearly in the center of the population of the United States than it is at present. The problem of the immediate future is to devise ways and means to insure that we shall continue to obtain men of the greatest promise.

Harvard must endeavor to draw to its staff the most able investigators and teachers of the world. We have today a faculty of which we may be justly proud but we cannot ignore the fact that it is increasingly difficult to attract from other universities and research institutes the outstanding men whom we desire. I need not stress the necessity of our having at Harvard great scholars and investigators. Our ultimate contribution to society will depend on their scholarly output and their stimulating teaching. What they accomplish and those whom they inspire will be the measure of our success. If we have in each department of the University the most distinguished faculty which it is possible to obtain, we need have little worry about the future. If we fail in this regard, there are no educational panaceas which will restore Harvard to its position of leadership.

Must Attract Scholars

Together with other institutions of higher learning, we are the trustees in whose hands lies the fate of the future of human knowledge. We have at Harvard unusual advantages for scholarly work: libraries, museums, laboratories, and special institutes. In some fields can provide opportunities for investigation which are unequalled in this country. It is clearly our first duty to see that our permanent staff is composed of those who can use these facilities most effectively and wisely. We must provide every opportunity for the ambitious, brilliant young scholar to come to Harvard and demonstrate his worth. In order to obtain such men for our faculty, the academic life in Cambridge must be made more attractive in a number of ways. Sufficient time should be allowed for writing and investigation; a satisfactory balance must be struck between teaching and research. The Governing Boards might well give serious consideration to the problem presented by the transformation of the living conditions in Cambridge which has occurred in the last twenty-five years. Suitable houses for our faculty have become increasingly scarce and expensive. It is no longer as pleasant or easy to live in Cambridge as in many other university communities. This fact is a serious handicap to our development.

Harvard's Responsibility as a National University

In the future even more than in the past, we should attract to our student body the most promising young men throughout the whole nation. To accomplish its mission Harvard must be a truly national university. The young men who enter the College and our professional schools are today drawn from no single locality and no single class. Student aid and student employment have enabled many with small means to complete their Harvard course. It is very difficult, however, for a student without any financial resources to continue his education in a privately endowed institution. It is particularly difficult if he comes from a distance. Yet we should be able to say that any man with remarkable talents may obtain his education at Harvard whether he be rich or penniless, whether he come from Boston or San Francisco. This is an ideal toward which we must work; today our fellowship and scholarship funds are woefully inadequate. In my opinion we should have a large number of fellowships paying as much as twelve hundred dollars. The universities in this country should be the apex of a pyramid based on our highly developed school system. A path to the top should be open to all of exceptional talent. The privately endowed institutions must keep the way clear for the gifted youth with limited means.

Revision of Scholarship Policy

Something can be accomplished by a re-grouping of our present scholarship funds, it would be well to combine some of our smaller scholarships and thus provide a greater number of large fellowships. This is particularly true in the College. It would also be very desirable to have a considerable fraction of the scholarships awarded for more than one year. In the College, for example, some might be given for three years at the end of the first year and some for two at the completion of the Sophomore year. Certain safeguards would have to be provided, of course, to