Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

10/16/2026

Ranjay Gulati, PhD ’93, an expert on leadership strategy and organizational growth, has thought a lot about courage.

It is not fearlessness, the Harvard Business School professor writes in his new book, How to Be Bold: The Surprising Science of Everyday Courage, but the ability to make sense of situations in helpful ways and also see ourselves as strong, capable people who can control our destinies. Most of all, he says that courage is a learned behavior. With evidence-based tools—and with practice—leaders of all kinds can put themselves on the path to developing a courageous mindset.

Read the Q&A from the latest issue of Harvard Griffin GSAS Colloquy Magazine: https://buff.ly/GoZFvIP

Photo by Evgenia Eliseeva

10/15/2026

Let’s play telephone! ☎️ The catch? The next player hasn’t even been born yet. Over millions of years, mammals have been playing “intergenerational telephone,” sharing messages about the environment with their developing offspring.

Join Sasha Post, Graduate Student, Harvard Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, for a presentation on the strategies humans use to play telephone, why these strategies evolved, and how we can change the game to improve public health.

Regular museum admission rates apply. See details:
https://tinyurl.com/ScienceSpotlightsOct26

10/14/2026

"The idea of the lack of Black patriarchy . . . was part of the excuse for why Black men should not have political power, gain the franchise, or have the vote."

Now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Notre Dame, Thomas Blakeslee’s research traces narratives of the Black father and family back to stereotypes that emerged alongside emancipation after the Civil War. Building on decades of scholarship that chronicled the resilience of the Black family, Blakeslee, PhD ’25, illustrates how fatherhood gave rise to "radical paternity"—acts of resistance and new versions of masculinity in the African American community that emphasized care and service while rejecting domination and violence.

Read more: https://buff.ly/ISzDmLQ

Photo by Dayane de Leon-Blakeslee

10/12/2026

This past spring, the 2026 Harvard Griffin GSAS Centennial Medalists—Frank Bidart, Anjana Rao, Cristián Samper, and Londa Schiebinger—were recognized for breaking new ground across poetry, cell biology, global conservation, and history.

The 2026 Harvard Griffin GSAS Centennial Medalists—Frank Bidart, Anjana Rao, Cristián Samper, and Londa Schiebinger—are recognized for breaking new ground across poetry, cell biology, global conservation, and history.

10/10/2026

Today is World Mental Health Day. 💛

Graduate school is a journey of discovery, challenge, growth, and change, and taking care of your mental health is an important part of that journey.

Today, and every day, let’s make space for rest, connection, support, and asking for help when we need it.

At Counseling and Mental Health Services, part of Harvard University Health Services, their goal is to make it easier to find the support that is right for you. And you don’t need to know exactly what you need before reaching out.

Learn more:

Counseling and Mental Health Services (CAMHS), part of Harvard University Health Services makes it easier for students to find the support that’s right for them.

10/09/2026

From early-morning studies to deep-sea exploration, meals with the crew and a well-earned wind-down, come along with Harvard Griffin GSAS PhD candidate in organismic and evolutionary biology (OEB), Belkes Stambouli, as she takes us behind the scenes of her recent Ocean Exploration Trust Nautilus Live expedition.

At Harvard, Belkes works alongside Dr. Holford in the OEB department. 🌊🐙

10/08/2026

Imagine you are an immigration official. You can admit only one of the following two people into the country: a man with an elementary school education who is fleeing violence, or a woman with a graduate degree who is seeking employment. Which one would you choose?

To measure public opinion about immigration, political scientists have asked variations of this question to hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. A new study in Science Advances, led by Harvard Griffin GSAS PhD student Marco Aviña, combines data from a hundred of these studies for a large-scale examination of who makes a "worthy" immigrant in the public eye.

Across 36 countries, the paper reports that host citizens generally prefer immigrants with attributes associated with economic contribution, such as those possessing advanced degrees or strong language skills. It also warns of profound political polarization—while conservatives place great weight on cultural similarity, liberals largely do not.

Continue reading: https://buff.ly/UvWUwqV

📷 Claudia Romano/Harvard Griffin GSAS

10/06/2026

An estimated 75 million US women experience menopause-related symptoms—from hot flashes and mood changes to sleep disturbances, joint pain, weight gain, and more.

Despite menopause’s significant impact on well-being, the National Institutes of Health devotes only a fraction of its already meager 9 percent women’s health research budget to it. Access to qualified care is also limited: rural US counties average fewer than 2 obstetrician-gynecologists per 1,000 residents, and as many as 80 percent of doctors report feeling unprepared to manage menopause effectively.

Ava Mainieri, PhD ’20, wants to transform this aspect of women’s health care. As vice president of clinical operations at the fast-growing startup Midi Health, Mainieri is part of the effort to expand access to doctors who understand the challenges of midlife. In doing so, she hopes not only to bridge the gap in knowledge faced by women and their providers but also, ultimately, to help set a new standard of care for those in menopause.

Learn more about Ava and her initiative with Midi Health: https://buff.ly/VDEjCwN

10/05/2026

The summer/fall 2026 issue of digital Colloquy is now available!

Read about a revolution in women's midlife healthcare, how sociotropic traits and political beliefs shape public perception of immigrants across 36 countries, racial stereotypes through "radical paternity," and much more.

Learn more: https://buff.ly/tT3q2kY

10/02/2026

University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers, PhD '01, says prices rise and wages catch up—the economic one-step—but our experience of inflation is a psychological two-step: we see price hikes as a kind of unjust theft by a malign external force, but internalize a rise in wages as the deserved result of personal productivity, worth, or value in the workplace.

But if inflation was higher in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, why are we so much more angry about it today?

🎙 New episode of the Colloquy podcast available now: https://buff.ly/mLaoLsV