Harvard Univ.

Harvard University

Coat of arms
Latin: Universitas Harvardiana
Former names	Harvard College
Motto	Veritas
Motto in English	Truth
Type	Private nonprofit university
Established	1636 (1636)
Endowment	US$37.1 billion (FY 2017)
President	Lawrence S. Bacow
Academic staff	4,671
Students	22,000
Undergraduates	6,700
Postgraduates	15,250
Location	Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Campus	Urban 210 acres (85 ha)
Newspaper	The Harvard Crimson
Colors	Crimson
Athletics	NCAA Division I – Ivy League
Nickname	Harvard Crimson
Affiliations	NAICU AICUM AAU URA
Website	harvard.edu

Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1636 and named for its first benefactor clergyman John Harvard, Harvard is the United States' oldest institution of higher learning, and its history, influence, and wealth have made it one of the world's most prestigious universities. The Harvard Corporation is its first chartered corporation. Although never formally affiliated with any denomination, the early College primarily trained Congregational and Unitarian clergy. Its curriculum and student body were gradually secularized during the 18th century, and by the 19th century, Harvard had emerged as the central cultural establishment among Boston elites. Following the American Civil War, President Charles W. Eliot's long tenure (1869–1909) transformed the college and affiliated professional schools into a modern research university; Harvard was a founding member of the Association of American Universities in 1900.A. Lawrence Lowell, who followed Eliot, further reformed the undergraduate curriculum and undertook aggressive expansion of Harvard's land holdings and physical plant. James Bryant Conant led the university through the Great Depression and World War II and began to reform the curriculum and liberalize admissions after the war. The undergraduate college became coeducational after its 1977 merger with Radcliffe College.