Dear Members of the Harvard Community,
I write to announce the selection of four student-led initiatives that will receive support from the President’s Building Bridges Fund to encourage dialogue and deepen understanding across differences on our campus. These projects, from groups with varied memberships and activities, share the goal of bringing people together and building mutual respect. I am eager to see how their work progresses over the spring term. We hope that the Building Bridges projects and other efforts currently under way will foster an environment in which everyone at Harvard can speak and debate freely, take risks for the sake of intellectual growth, and feel that they are valued members of our community, whether their views are popular or not.
If we aspire to change our culture, we will need to sustain activity to foster community at every level of the institution, from supporting creative and intentional efforts on our campus to reiterating our institutional values. Yesterday, in my opening remarks at our annual Forum, focused this year on cultivating bonds and building bridges, I reaffirmed our longstanding commitment to spurring and speeding excellence by embracing difference in its many forms. Together, we will continue to build a community in which people of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives come together to learn, grow, and thrive as we embrace the rights and responsibilities that membership in such a community demands.
In recent weeks, some of you have asked me what you can do to support the University at a moment when so much seems uncertain. Encourage one another in your work; celebrate academic excellence; take nothing about our extraordinary institution for granted.
Sincerely,
Alan M. Garber
