President's Message

I am quite proud of what has been accomplished in 16 months, with the able assistance of our officers and committees: last summer, we re-constructed the Harvard Club of Long Island (HCLI) website primarily to promote upcoming HCLI events. Over the last several months, we have updated and ratified our by-laws to provide for improved succession and to reflect how HCLI operates today (virtual meetings, formalizing our Executive Committee, reducing our Board from 21 to 18) as well as adopted a Conflicts of Interest policy. With these activities behind us, we can now turn to my remaining goal of growing membership back to pre-COVID levels. Ably assisted by our Membership Committee Co-Chairs (Joel Friedman and Melissa Steinkamp), we have prepared and distributed an informative flyer promoting the numerous events we sponsor – averaging between two and three per month for just $40/year (sincere thanks to both our Programming Committee and event organizers) – we encourage you to join! Membership is free for current students and parents, and discounted for retirees.
 

Once again, this October, I was fortunate to spend time in Cambridge for HAA Leadership meetings, the Cambridge Admissions Conference, and the 105th Reunion of the Harvard Band. I was pleased to hear about the initiatives underway to help de-escalate the polarization of the campus and society. Labeled “Intellectual Vitality,” broad efforts are underway to foster civil discourse, improve listening skills, and establish free and open conversations in classrooms, on campus, and in the greater Harvard community. Dean of Students Thomas Dunne spoke about the fact that we live in a pluralist democracy, where understanding and co-existence must prevail, requiring citizens to be curious about other viewpoints and humble to admit they could be missing or misunderstanding material information. For more information, please see https://www.harvard.edu/harvard-dialogues/. Additionally, updated and unified policies guaranteeing free speech, including a right to protest, are being developed, and major efforts are underway to increase communications between the University’s leadership and alumni/alumnae (see https://alumni.harvard.edu/community/harvard-looks-forward.) Finally, reports from the separate Presidential Task Forces on Combating Anti-Semitism & Anti-Israeli Bias and Combating Anti-Muslim & Anti-Arab Bias are expected in approximately two months.
 

What I have always admired about Harvard is its mission to improve. Battling headwinds from last year’s Supreme Court decision, the Admissions Office under the continued leadership of Dean Bill Fitzsimmons has continued its unswerving efforts to promote cultural and economic diversity, with 20% of the freshman class now being first-generation college students. Nekesa Straker, Dean of First Year Students, has developed a robust program to help all students feel welcome, with newsletters, required learning prior to coming to campus, improved processes for selecting proctors and freshman advisors, and social activities.
 

In closing, I urge you to attend an HCLI event, which range from signature, networking or family events to sporting events or performances to education, community, culture or volunteer events. You will be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to make new friends in our welcoming community here on Long Island. I welcome receiving your input at HarvardClubLongIsland@gmail.com, most especially anyone interested in interviewing college applicants.
 

Illegitimum non carborundum, Skip