Professor Harry Lewis, photo credit: Kathy Pham
An Online Conversation with Harry Lewis: Harvard Reflections, Past, Present, and Future
All HCC members and Harvard alumni are invited to an online conversation with Professor Harry Lewis, AB ’68, AM ’73, PHD ’74. Lewis is Gordon McKay Research Professor of Computer Science at Harvard, co-president of the Council on Academic Freedom at Harvard, and former Dean of Harvard College.
This HCC event is part of a series of events on the state of Harvard, the first of which was a February 2024 conversation with former Harvard Corporation member Paul Finnegan.
Professor Lewis will give brief remarks to begin the program, with Q&A to follow. Closer to the event, registrants will receive a form through which to pre-submit questions for Professor Lewis. Please register by 3/15/24 to receive the form and have your question(s) considered.
This program will not be recorded.
About Professor Lewis
After receiving his PhD from Harvard in 1974, Lewis joined the Harvard faculty. He became Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science in 1981, and from 2003–2008 he was honored with the title of Harvard College Professor in honor of his teaching excellence.
As Dean of Harvard College from 1995-2003, Professor Lewis oversaw the undergraduate experience, including residential life, career services, public service, academic and personal advising, athletic policy, and intercultural and race relations. He is also a longtime member of the College’s Admissions Committee.
In addition to Lewis’ work as an esteemed computer scientist, mathematician, and university administrator, he has authored numerous books and articles from computer science to higher ed. His book Excellence Without a Soul: Does Liberal Education Have a Future? was a Boston Globe bestseller with positive reviews in the Globe and Wall Street Journal. He also co-authored a book on the origins and public consequences of the digital information flood, Blown to Bits: Your Life, Liberty, and Happiness After the Digital Explosion, and most recently co-edited the book, What is College For?
Professor Lewis, who remains actively engaged with issues impacting Harvard and higher education, has written numerous pieces for The Harvard Crimson, including his latest opinion piece, Reaping What We Have Taught.
In March 2023, Lewis helped to launch the Council on Academic Freedom at Harvard and remains a co-president. The group has more than 170 members with representatives from every Harvard school.
Forbes Fun Fact: “Harvard computer science and math professor Harry Lewis had Bill Gates as a student in 1976 and then Mark Zuckerberg in 2002 – before Gates dropped out to build Microsoft and before Zuckerberg left to create Facebook.”
Click here for Lewis’ full bio: Harvard Professor Harry Lewis
EVENT DETAILS
Date: Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Time: 6-7:15pm Central
Cost: FREE
*THIS IS AN ONLINE EVENT* (will not be recorded)
Register (Required!): Click Here to Register
This event is open to all Harvard alumni
Zoom meeting info will be included in your registration receipt. Closer to the event, registrants will receive a form through which to pre-submit questions for Professor Lewis. Please register by 3/15/24 to receive the form and have your question(s) considered.