Debbie W eeler, age 11, of Lowell, Mass., for her question:
WHEN WAS HARVARD UNIVERSITY FOUNDED?
Harvard University was founded in 1636, just 16 years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth. It is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States.
Harvard College was founded at Newtown and in 1638 the school was renamed Cambridge after Cambridge University in England where many of the colonists had studied. The first students started classes in the summer of 1638.
In 1639 the college was named after John Harvard, a Puritan minister. Harvard gave the school a collection of over 400 books in 1636 and when he died in 1638, he left the school half of his estate. The name change honored the fine contribution.
The first class of students graduated from Harvard College in 1642.
Today Harvard University has two major undergraduate divisions: Harvard College and Radcliffe College. All classes are coeducational and students receive Harvard University degrees.
The main campus of Harvard University is in Cambridge, Mass. Several of the school's divisions are located in Boston. Enrolled in Harvard's 10 graduate and professional schools are over half of the university's students.
Harvard is one of the richest private universities in the United States, with an endowment of over $1 billion. The school awards about $18 million in financial aid to its students each year with about $5 million going to undergraduates.
Harvard still operates under a charter granted in 1650. A corporation of five fellows together with the president and treasurer ex officio manage the university. A board of 30 overseers, elected periodically by alumni, must approve the acts of the corporation.
Harvard's present educational system was shaped by Charles William Eliot, president of the school from 1869 until 1909.
Under Eliot's leadership, Harvard established the elective studies system, replacing the prescribed classical curriculum, and raised scholarly and professional standards in the graduate branches.
Abbott Lawrence Lowell, president of Harvard from 1909 to 1933, refined the elective system to include a tutorial system, specialized fields of study and general examinations.
Under James B. Conant, president from 1922 to 1953, Harvard reorganized professional training in the fields of engineering, architecture and dental medicine. Conant developed the general education program for undergraduates.
Under Nathan M. Pusey, who served as president of the university from 1953 until 1971, Harvard placed strong emphasis on international and area studies. The university also strengthened its departments of divinity, education, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, medicine and public health.