Fellows Promote Genius

In the 1920s, Harvard President A. Lawrence Lowell, Class of 1877, and Professor of Biological Chemistry Lawrence Joseph Henderson grew dissatisfied with what they saw as the rigid formalization of higher education.

Harvard, in their opinion, had grown so much that there was little room left for intellectual exploration. Something had to be done.

"I do not want to depreciate the Ph.D., but to provide an alternative path more suited to the encouragement of the rare and independent genius," Lowell said at the time.

In 1926, Henderson and several colleagues--including Professor of English John Livingston Lowes, Boston lawyer and Corporation member Charles P. Curtis '14 and Professor of Philosophy Alfred North Whitehead--produced a report proposing a solution.

The report discussed the value of a fellowship offered at Trinity College--a fellowship that Professor Whitehead had himself won--and suggested that Harvard found one of its own. They also recommended that a 200-person honors college be established as a subset of Harvard.

The honors college never materialized. And Lowell sought funds for the fellowship program without success.

With the fate of his dream in the balance, Lowell decided to give one million dollars of his own money, anonymously, to get the new Society of Fellows off the ground.

"The result was that, there being no visible source of the necessary funds," Lowell wrote, "I gave it myself, in a kind of desperation, although it took nearly all had."

The Society of Fellows was created in 1933. Sixty-one years later, it boasts 14 Noble Laureates, 50 current Harvard faculty members and famous names like McGeorge Bundy, B.F. Skinner, and Stanley Cavell.

Today, the society still provides what Lowellwanted for it: "an alter native path more suitedto the encouragement of the rare and independentgenius." It serves as a recruiting ground of sortsfor high-caliber faculty.

"The purpose of the Society is to give men andwomen at an early stage of their scholarly careersan opportunity to pursue their studies in anydepartment of the University, free from formalrequirements," explains a description published bythe society.

The society, which maintains offices at 78 Mt.Auburn St. and a dining room in Eliot House'sMentry, is composed of 12 senior fellows whoselect eight junior fellows annually for thethree-year fellowships. The senior fellows, whohold long-term appointments, are Harvard facultymembers.

The senior fellows begin the admissions processby sending letters to universities and researchinstitutions around the world, solicitingnominations for the upcoming year's juniorfellows.

After receiving nominations, the senior fellowswrite the nominees for applications. From morethan 200 applications, the pool is reduced toabout 40 people who are flown to the Society'soffices at 78 Mount Auburn Street for interviews.

"Young scholars are invited to join the Societynot primarily for what they have accomplishedunder the demands of traditional education, butrather for their intellectual promise andcapability of independent, original contributionin their field of endeavor," explains a brochurepublished by the society in 1972.

When the society began in 1933, Lowell and thefour men who wrote the report were all seniorfellows. In their first year, they invited sixjunior fellows, three of whom had graduate summacum laude from the College.

Three of the fellows went on to become famousHarvard professors: W.V.O. Quine, B.F. Skinner,and Garrett Birkhoff' 32.

The society met for its first dinner on Monday,September 25, 1933. The opening statement ofprinciples was written by Lowell and has been readat the annual opening dinner ever since.

"You will practice the virtues and avoid thesnares of the scholar," Lowell wrote. "You will becourteous to your elders who have explored to thepoint from which you may now advance, and helpfulto your juniorswho will progress further by reason of yourlabors."

In an interview this week, Quine, now PierceProfessor of Philosophy emeritus, described histime as one of the first junior fellows as "threeidyllic years." Quine said he was inCzechoslovakia on a traveling fellowship afterearning his Ph.D. when he received a cable fromWhitehead announcing his selection as a juniorfellow.

"It was great break: we were in a deepdepression, I was married and jobs were scarce,"the professor said. Quine said he never evenapplied for the fellowship: "I think I might bethe only junior fellow never interviewed."

The Society of Fellows has been part of Quine'slife ever since, he said.

He regularly attended the Tuesday and Fridayluncheons in the society's rooms in Eliot Houseuntil he was appointed senior fellow in 1984.Senior fellows are not permitted at the lunches sothat conversation may be more free. The weeklyevent for all fellows, past and present, is theMonday night dinner, which Quine still attendsonce or twice a month.

Hollis Professor of Mathematicks and NaturalPhilosophy Andrew M. Gleason, a former juniorfellow who now chairs the society, said thesociety has changed since the time when Quine wasa fellow.

"The Society was founded originally with theexplicit purpose of getting people out of the[Ph.d. octopus]," Gleason said. To achieve this,the society established an age limit of 28 forjunior fellows.

Since then, the age limit has been eliminatedand most junior fellows today already have or arefinishing their Ph.D.'s, Gleason said.

The Society has made other changes to keep upwith the outside world, according to Gleason.After decades of being all-male, women now may beadmitted to the society.

In some ways, the society has not fulfilledLowell's expectations. The president originallyexpected the junior fellows to live and eat in thehouses.

Since very few fellows have taken advantage ofthis benefit in recent years, the society haseliminated the housing option and boosted theannual stipend to its present level of $35,000.

And the society has never played the criticalrole originally envisioned for it.

President James B. Conant '14 wrote in hisfirst President's report in 1933 that "it isunnecessary to point out what a stimulatinginfluence to the houses and the graduate schoolsthe presence of these junior fellows will be."

In fact, most students--including some in EliotM-entry--don't even know what the society is.

Regardless of this, most who have had contactwith the society praise its importance. "Itjustifies itself as a very important recruitingground for [Harvard's] faculty," Gleason said.

Lamont University Professor Amartya Sen, whowas a prize fellow of Trinity College and iscurrently a senior fellow, cites the flexibilityof the program as the most beneficial aspect ofthese fellowships for those involved.

Sen, whose formal training is in economics, isa professor in both the departments of economicsand philosophy at Harvard.

"It was only as a prize Fellow at Trinity thatI had the opportunity to take interest in otherthings," Sen said. "You are given the freedom todo what you like."

For Sen this meant philosophy, a subject whichhas become a life-long passion for him.

Ironically, the 61-year-old society may be oneof the best examples of the interdisciplinaryapproach learning advocated recently by PresidentNeil L. Rudenstine.

Sen praises the interdisciplinary discussionwhich the Society fosters. "I regard it asextremely important to be able to communicate withpeople not in your field," he said.

Many junior fellows explore new fields while atHarvard, but few go as far as one recent fellowwho took advantage of his new freedom to dedicatehimself to chess. The fellow reportedly has goneon to compete in national chess tournaments.

Stephen Dao-Hui Hsu, a current junior fellowstudying theoretical physics, says that, forscientists at least, the program is similar tobeing a post-doctoral student at any other school.

What makes the program special, Hsu says, isthe "opportunity to get to know the other juniorfellows."

In his president's report for the 1957-58academic year, Nathan M. Pusey '28 gave anassessment of the society that may still applytoday:

"It seems an understatement to say that theidea which sprang from the minds of men likePresident Lowell and Professors Henderson,Whitehead, and Lowes, has had influence of greatsignificance in American higher education, even ifit has not resulted in an example of how tocircumvent the rigidity of doctoral requirementsas President Lowell had hoped."Crimson File PhotoAMARTYA SEN

Today, the society still provides what Lowellwanted for it: "an alter native path more suitedto the encouragement of the rare and independentgenius." It serves as a recruiting ground of sortsfor high-caliber faculty.

"The purpose of the Society is to give men andwomen at an early stage of their scholarly careersan opportunity to pursue their studies in anydepartment of the University, free from formalrequirements," explains a description published bythe society.

The society, which maintains offices at 78 Mt.Auburn St. and a dining room in Eliot House'sMentry, is composed of 12 senior fellows whoselect eight junior fellows annually for thethree-year fellowships. The senior fellows, whohold long-term appointments, are Harvard facultymembers.

The senior fellows begin the admissions processby sending letters to universities and researchinstitutions around the world, solicitingnominations for the upcoming year's juniorfellows.

After receiving nominations, the senior fellowswrite the nominees for applications. From morethan 200 applications, the pool is reduced toabout 40 people who are flown to the Society'soffices at 78 Mount Auburn Street for interviews.

"Young scholars are invited to join the Societynot primarily for what they have accomplishedunder the demands of traditional education, butrather for their intellectual promise andcapability of independent, original contributionin their field of endeavor," explains a brochurepublished by the society in 1972.

When the society began in 1933, Lowell and thefour men who wrote the report were all seniorfellows. In their first year, they invited sixjunior fellows, three of whom had graduate summacum laude from the College.

Three of the fellows went on to become famousHarvard professors: W.V.O. Quine, B.F. Skinner,and Garrett Birkhoff' 32.

The society met for its first dinner on Monday,September 25, 1933. The opening statement ofprinciples was written by Lowell and has been readat the annual opening dinner ever since.

"You will practice the virtues and avoid thesnares of the scholar," Lowell wrote. "You will becourteous to your elders who have explored to thepoint from which you may now advance, and helpfulto your juniorswho will progress further by reason of yourlabors."

In an interview this week, Quine, now PierceProfessor of Philosophy emeritus, described histime as one of the first junior fellows as "threeidyllic years." Quine said he was inCzechoslovakia on a traveling fellowship afterearning his Ph.D. when he received a cable fromWhitehead announcing his selection as a juniorfellow.

"It was great break: we were in a deepdepression, I was married and jobs were scarce,"the professor said. Quine said he never evenapplied for the fellowship: "I think I might bethe only junior fellow never interviewed."

The Society of Fellows has been part of Quine'slife ever since, he said.

He regularly attended the Tuesday and Fridayluncheons in the society's rooms in Eliot Houseuntil he was appointed senior fellow in 1984.Senior fellows are not permitted at the lunches sothat conversation may be more free. The weeklyevent for all fellows, past and present, is theMonday night dinner, which Quine still attendsonce or twice a month.

Hollis Professor of Mathematicks and NaturalPhilosophy Andrew M. Gleason, a former juniorfellow who now chairs the society, said thesociety has changed since the time when Quine wasa fellow.

"The Society was founded originally with theexplicit purpose of getting people out of the[Ph.d. octopus]," Gleason said. To achieve this,the society established an age limit of 28 forjunior fellows.

Since then, the age limit has been eliminatedand most junior fellows today already have or arefinishing their Ph.D.'s, Gleason said.

The Society has made other changes to keep upwith the outside world, according to Gleason.After decades of being all-male, women now may beadmitted to the society.

In some ways, the society has not fulfilledLowell's expectations. The president originallyexpected the junior fellows to live and eat in thehouses.

Since very few fellows have taken advantage ofthis benefit in recent years, the society haseliminated the housing option and boosted theannual stipend to its present level of $35,000.

And the society has never played the criticalrole originally envisioned for it.

President James B. Conant '14 wrote in hisfirst President's report in 1933 that "it isunnecessary to point out what a stimulatinginfluence to the houses and the graduate schoolsthe presence of these junior fellows will be."

In fact, most students--including some in EliotM-entry--don't even know what the society is.

Regardless of this, most who have had contactwith the society praise its importance. "Itjustifies itself as a very important recruitingground for [Harvard's] faculty," Gleason said.

Lamont University Professor Amartya Sen, whowas a prize fellow of Trinity College and iscurrently a senior fellow, cites the flexibilityof the program as the most beneficial aspect ofthese fellowships for those involved.

Sen, whose formal training is in economics, isa professor in both the departments of economicsand philosophy at Harvard.

"It was only as a prize Fellow at Trinity thatI had the opportunity to take interest in otherthings," Sen said. "You are given the freedom todo what you like."

For Sen this meant philosophy, a subject whichhas become a life-long passion for him.

Ironically, the 61-year-old society may be oneof the best examples of the interdisciplinaryapproach learning advocated recently by PresidentNeil L. Rudenstine.

Sen praises the interdisciplinary discussionwhich the Society fosters. "I regard it asextremely important to be able to communicate withpeople not in your field," he said.

Many junior fellows explore new fields while atHarvard, but few go as far as one recent fellowwho took advantage of his new freedom to dedicatehimself to chess. The fellow reportedly has goneon to compete in national chess tournaments.

Stephen Dao-Hui Hsu, a current junior fellowstudying theoretical physics, says that, forscientists at least, the program is similar tobeing a post-doctoral student at any other school.

What makes the program special, Hsu says, isthe "opportunity to get to know the other juniorfellows."

In his president's report for the 1957-58academic year, Nathan M. Pusey '28 gave anassessment of the society that may still applytoday:

"It seems an understatement to say that theidea which sprang from the minds of men likePresident Lowell and Professors Henderson,Whitehead, and Lowes, has had influence of greatsignificance in American higher education, even ifit has not resulted in an example of how tocircumvent the rigidity of doctoral requirementsas President Lowell had hoped."Crimson File PhotoAMARTYA SEN