Previous Issues
Vol. 1, No 1: Winter 2011
Photo Essay: Adams Underground
Sometimes, the tunnels DO speak.
Life in an Empty House
Harvard's new academic calendar brings a whole different meaning to January.
Restoring FDR's Harvard - One Pixel at a Time
A behind-the-scenes look at how digital technology helps to recreate the world of 1904.
The View from Apthorp
How our Masters see it.
Stranger Than Fiction: Five Adams House Novels
You never know what's going to turn up at Adams, especially when reading the works of these five authors.
Vol. 1, No 2: Spring 2011
Photo Essay: Apthorp Turns 250!
Photos by Chunbai Zhang, Joe Poirier ’11 & Joe Brancale ’13 There’s never a bad time for a party at old Adams, and in true House spirit, residents celebrated the 250th anniversary of Apthorp House on a raw day this past April. A great cast of characters was assembled, spanning the entire history of the... Read more »
Galaxy Gazer
Only once in Adams House history has a student gone from resident to Master. Some recollections from from William Liller,'48 on his undergraduate days, the swingin' 60s, & how he survived the Harvard riots to live to chart the stars.
Tales of an Old House
British officers imprisoned... Monkeys swinging from the chandeliers ... Students running wild to the crazed beat of ragtime...! You'll be surprised to learn what's occurred within the now sedate walls of Apthorp House.
Alumni Profile: Ambassador John Gunther Dean '47
In this, the first of our video series The New Fireside Chats, Michael Weishan '86 sits down with John Gunther Dean to discuss a remarkable four-decade career in the Diplomatic Corps, and why telling the truth in Washington doesn't always bear the best reward.
Letter from Cambridge
Parting Company
The View from Apthorp
Summer Vacation
Selected Letters from our Readers
We may have just launched, but boy, we've heard from a lot of you already. A small selection...
Vol. 2, No 1: Autumn 2011
Photo Essay: A Video Tour of the FDR Suite
The next best thing to being there
State of DisUnion
The rise and demise of Harvard's first social experiment, the Union
Adams, The Irrelevant
According to many, the College lost something ageless when the class of 2001 donned their academic dress, and with long-labored degree in hand, departed the Yard for the last time as undergraduates. With their matriculation, the final class to have specifically selected their own House bid their alma mater a fond farewell, and the New... Read more »
A House Remembered
The first installment of a two-part history by former House Master Bob Kiely
Letter from Cambridge
Pastperfect
Selected Letters from Our Readers
Bob Guttman ’48 reassigned to ’52 writes: I was pleased (surprised) to read a letter from a member of the class of ‘48. I became a member of that class when I entered as a Freshman in March of 1945 and lived in Adams House – all the spaces in the Yard being taken... Read more »
The Deep End: Tales from the Pool
A (dare we say it?) bare-all history of the late lamented Adams House Swimming Pool
Vol. 2, No 2: Spring 2012
Six Buildings that Shaped Harvard History
Professors hanged in effigy; the Rebellion Elm; the Yard as armed camp; Victorian dreams of monumental splendor, social experiments tried and failed; presidents, Porcellians and "paths coincident" of iceberg and ocean liner . . .all of these are part of nearly four centuries of architecture at Harvard. Based on a popular Harvard Alumni Association walking tour given by PBS host and author Michael Weishan '86, this film explores how six very special buildings at Harvard not only changed the course of University events, but helped to shape the world we live in today.
Alumni Profile: John Jay Hughes '48
In this the third of the New Fireside Chats, Father John Jay Hughes, '48 author of No Ordinary Fool, discusses spirituality, dogma, and his 60-year quest for faith. Ordained an Anglican minister, Father Hughes explains why he converted to Catholicism (at great personal cost – his father, also an Anglican minister, never spoke to him again) and narrates, with trademark wit and humor, the trials and rewards of a lifetime spent in the service of God.
Spitting Image: The Case of Adams' Missing Copley
The Gardner Museum isn't the only one with missing art: was Adams once home to its very own John Singleton Copley?
The View from Apthorp
Down Down-Under
Letter from Cambridge
Legacy
Selected Letters from Our Readers
Our cup runneth over this issue!
Vol. 3, No 1: Autumn 2012
A House Remembered, Part II
In the continuation of his Adams memoirs, former Master Bob Kiely looks back on the second half of his two-plus decades at the helm of Adams.
How Harvard Invented Modern Football
Yes, we Harvardians love to take credit for almost everything, but in this case it's deserved, at least, serendipitously.
A Tutor's Tale: When House is Home
Ever wonder what being a tutor at Adams would be like? Our own normally staid Sean M. Lynn-Jones reveals the madness behind the mask.
The View from Apthorp
Drag Night Of all the grand old Adams House traditions, perhaps the most famous is Drag Night, and we’re happy to say it still glitters on. After randomization, the number of students who came nightly to the Dining Hall in drag dwindled, and rising sophomores were no longer required to come to the first Tea... Read more »
The Homogenization of Harvard
There is a part of me – and it would be disingenuous to suggest that it isn’t a prominent part – that finds itself railing against today’s model of the ideal Harvard student. And though there are many reasons why a conservative such as myself might take exception to many members of the current student... Read more »
Letter from Cambridge
The Ultimate Final Club
Selected Letters from Our Readers
Bruce Carr ’60 writes: I sang in the Dido and Aeneas that James Gillen produced in 1958 (my sophomore year) though, as only a member of the chorus, I was not aware of Gillen’s involvement, nor involved enough to recognize the difficulties he cites. But I wonder whether or not those difficulties really stemmed from... Read more »
Vol. 4, No 1: Autumn 2013
Adams Going Global
This seven-minute video profiles the remarkable odyssey of our first two Franklin Delano Roosevelt Global Fellows – and forms a very far from average "what I did over my summer vacation" tale.
Student Profile: Santiago Pardo '16
GC: I understand you’re in possession of a certain historical typewriter, part of an obscure Adams House tradition. Please explain. SP: Well I had just moved into the House and my sophomore advisor, Tim Smith, emailed me saying that he had something special to show me. I meet him in the House library and there... Read more »
Jesus Falls a Second Time
An original short story
The View from Apthorp
Brave New World
Letter from Cambridge
Transitions
Seamus at Adams
Former master Bob Kiely recalls the ever talented and much beloved Nobel Laureate, Adams' own Seamus Heaney, who died this past September.
Franklin D. Roosevelt: Republican
The surprising political beginnings of our own president-resident.
Vol. 5, No 1: Autumn 2014
Achieving Global Health Equity in a Generation: A Roadmap Forward with Larry Summers and Julio Frenk
This past October 14th, the Foundation's new Center for Global Engagements sponsored their first talk: Treasury Secretary and Harvard President Emeritus Larry Summers joined Dean of the Harvard School of Public Health Julio Frenk to discuss a new approach to equalizing medical access throughout the world. Here's the video.
Here's A Health to King Charles
Echoes of our Harvard Past.
The View from Apthorp: Global Citizenship and the Environment
This coming January 21-24, Adams House will again sponsor its own WinterSession programming. When instituted a few years back, WinterSession was specifically intended to allow students to explore subjects and themes that they would not otherwise have time to pursue during their normal course of studies. This year our program is entitled 2035: A Guide... Read more »
Letter from Cambridge: Sending the Elevator Back Down
The other day while randomly flicking through channels, I caught a glimpse of an interview with Kevin Spacey. He’d been asked a question about why he spends so much free time working with young actors. His answer was remarkable. Quoting mentor Jack Lemmon ’47, Spacey said: “I believe that if you have been successful in... Read more »
Sophomore Profile: Tez Clark '17
Each fall we sit down with one of our most intriguing new Adamsians for a sense of undergraduate life today.
Alumni Profile: Doug Carver, '59
An ex-Marine rediscovers a forgotten corner of Harvard's military past.
The Roosevelts At Harvard
Acclaimed historian and writer for Ken Burn's PBS hit joined us last May for the 6th Annual Memorial Lecture. Here's his talk.
Vol. 6, No 1: Spring 2016
Alumni Profile: Jed Willard '96
The Director of the Foundation's Center for Global Engagement sets out to change the world.
Here, There and Back Again: A Tale of a Sign
Before there was Adams House, there was THE Adams House
Adams Lore
Former Master Bob Kiely and Maria Kiely '99 launch a new site to explore the creative side of Adams House
What the Titanic Can Teach us About Surviving Climate Change
This past fall Adams hosted a unique multi-disciplinary conference to look Beyond Tomorrow. This is one of the first work-products of that effort.
The View from Apthorp: Changing Times
Find out more...
Letter From Cambridge: Backwards Forwards
Progress reports on the historic room database, the football flag project, The FDR Global Fellowships, and a totally new look for the Gold Coaster.
Vol. 7, No 1: Spring 2018
Things to Come: A Renewal Photo Album
Adams House Renewal: A Primer
Back in April I had the privilege of sitting down with my friend Merle Bicknell, Assistant Dean for Physical Resources, and the architects of Beyer Blinder Belle, the visionaries who will be shepherding Adams House through the Renewal Project. I’m guessing (strike that, I know) that Merle had some trepidation about the meeting, because I... Read more »
Gold Coasting
“A film sketch of life in a Harvard House”, the 1953 Gold Coasting by Nelson Galassi ’53, was long considered lost to the public, as only a negative without sound was preserved in the Harvard Archives. But thanks to diligent efforts by the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Foundation and the wonderful generosity of Joel Mandelbaum ’53,... Read more »
Letter from Cambridge: Changing of the Guard
When I first came up with the idea of starting an Adams House alumni magazine 8 years ago, there were the usual number of nay-sayers. “Oh, there will never be enough content to sustain it.” “How many people will read the thing, anyway?” “Who is going to staff it for free?” The answers to those... Read more »
The Class of '92 Returns to Adams and Learns Five New Golden Rules
On May 27, 2017, members of the Adams House class of ‘92 returned to celebrate their twenty-fifth reunion.
Vol. 8, No 1: Winter 2020
Letter From Cambridge: The World Turned Upside Down
Tradition holds that as the defeated British soldiers retired from the field at Yorktown, their regimental band struck up an ancient march, The World Turned Upside Down: If buttercups buzz’d after the bee If boats were on land, churches on sea If ponies rode men and if grass ate the cows And cats should... Read more »
Not My Climate Crisis
This past November, the Gold Coaster sat down with Roosevelt Scholars Charles Hua ’22 and Simon Levien ’23 to talk about their work over the past summer surveying the state of the environmental movement at the College. The picture produced by the studies, commissioned by the FDR Foundation, reveals a student body fractured... Read more »
The View From Apthorp: The Palfreys Bid Farewell
Dear Adams, We write you today to tell you that we will be retiring as your Faculty Deans at the end of this spring semester. These 21 years have been wonderful for us, and we will miss all of you more than you can imagine — all the students, tutors, staff, members of the Senior... Read more »
Photo Essay: Fair Claverly
It saddens us to relate the news that Norman Richard Shapiro’51 died peacefully on Friday, April 3rd, 2020. Born on November 1, 1930, he attended Boston Latin School, and earned this Bachelors, Masters as well as PhD from Harvard University Norman had a passion for romance languages and pursued his doctorate in French. He traveled... Read more »
Adams to the Rescue: A Conversation with Michael Weishan about Adam's Response to the COVID Crisis
We sat down with Michael Weishan, Executive Director of the FDR Foundation, to hear him recount the efforts of the Adams House Alumni and the Foundation during the COVID move out. GC: So in March it seemed the whole world was shutting down. How did you find out about Harvard’s decision to send the... Read more »
Vol. 9, No 1: Winter 2021
Adams’ Own Roosevelt Scholars Program Takes Flight
Dear Friends, It is with great pride I submit to you the final report for the 2021 Roosevelt Scholars program. Thanks to an extremely generous alumni donation, we were able to increase our cohort this year from six scholars to ten, and despite the demands of yet another remote summer, we’ve expanded and enhanced the... Read more »
Through the Looking Glass: Adams House in Glass Negatives
Some of you may recall reading about our Managing editor Santiago Pardo Sanchez way back when he was an “interesting sophomore.” Well, he continues to be “interesting” now that he is back at Adams as a resident tutor and House Librarian while pursing an MBA at MIT Sloan. One of his hobbies is collecting ephemera... Read more »
House Library News: Portraits and Archives
Dear Adams House Alumni, Much has changed in the House in the past year: we have welcomed wonderful new Faculty Deans, the House is under Renewal, and the students are back from over a year away due to the pandemic. With all this change, the House Library wants to take an active role in recognizing... Read more »
First Stage of Renewal Complete: A Claverly Hall Tour
As you may remember, the first stage of House Renewal for Adams House addressed Claverly Hall. The pandemic briefly delayed construction, but as of the 2021/2022 school year Claverly has opened its doors once again to students. Formerly a sophomore haunt, Claverly now predominantly houses seniors who want the newest and best accommodations at Harvard.... Read more »
It Takes Two
This past summer, Professors Mercedes Becerra and Salmaan Keshavjee became the new Faculty Deans at Adams House. Becerra is a professor of global health and social medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS). Keshavjee too is a professor of global health and social medicine at HMS, as well as an affiliate professor in the Department... Read more »
Letter from Cambridge: Putting Humpty-Dumpty Together Again
Contrary to wisdom of the old nursery rhyme, I am delighted to inform you that all the king’s horses and all the king’s men—these being defined in modern times as bevies of construction workers of both sexes, dozens of our own hardworking House staff, dutiful denizens of University Hall, and of course our students—together have... Read more »