Abby Shih Gerstein

Harvard faculty reporter | @thecrimson
[email protected]
Signal: abbysg.97

[Abby Shih Gerstein @abbysgerstein]

Harvard's FAS currently employs over 2000 staff — a number that means hundreds could be laid off in the coming months

more in @thecrimson

[Amann Mahajan @amannmahajan]

NEW: Harvard's FAS could lay off up to 25% of its staff this summer as part of a restructuring plan developed w/consulting giant McKinsey & Company

w/ @abbysgerstein

https://t.co/kmG2DyMdzm

[The Harvard Crimson @thecrimson]

NEW: Harvard faculty voted to impose a roughly 20 percent cap on A grades beginning fall 2027, approving the College’s most aggressive attempt to reverse grade inflation and reshape academic standards.

@abbysgerstein and @amannmahajan report.

https://t.co/RSymuBTZqk

[Abby Shih Gerstein @abbysgerstein]

BREAKING: Harvard Faculty Vote to Impose Cap on A Grades https://t.co/AnV0vwSqEK

[Amann Mahajan @amannmahajan]

Union leaders in @HAWorkers scrapped plans for a strike this semester — overriding a membership vote in the process.

https://t.co/aI5JnwlhkX

[The Harvard Crimson @thecrimson]

120 Harvard Jewish affiliates signed an open letter denouncing the U.S. DOJ’s latest lawsuit, accusing the Trump administration of weaponizing antisemitism complaints to curb free speech.

@abbysgerstein and @amannmahajan report.

https://t.co/DQVlxjmnfJ

[The Harvard Crimson @thecrimson]

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences quietly revised its campus use rules to allow publicly visible signs in private spaces, after months of pressure from faculty who said the guidelines limited expression.

@abbysgerstein and @amannmahajan report.

https://t.co/7emyqHlzRy

[The Harvard Crimson @thecrimson]

Faculty at peer institutions that have confronted grade inflation said Harvard is right to take the problem seriously — but warned that capping A's risks running into problems other schools have faced.

@SebastianC4784 and @summerellenrose report.

https://t.co/Xf4wP7kWze

[The Harvard Crimson @thecrimson]

Harvard’s Hist&Lit Department will launch a new “Urban Studies” track beginning next academic year, marking the College’s first formalized undergraduate program dedicated to the study of cities.

@almabk_ and @theresabartelme report.
https://t.co/BWL9CL76px

[The Harvard Crimson @thecrimson]

Donors using Harvard’s donor-advised fund directed nearly $9 million to three organizations focused on Jewish life and combating antisemitism in fiscal year 2024.

@MeganBlonigen, @grahamwonlee, and @JackBReardon report.

https://t.co/OQ18dkTquM

[The Harvard Crimson @thecrimson]

Harvard Public School of Health Professor Tyler VanderWeele was appointed by Pope Leo XIV to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences last week, placing him in one of the Vatican’s most influential bodies.

@RiyaShah233 and @JulianaYao298 report.

https://t.co/UUNvw4tAoW

[Noah Ferris @Noahaferris]

"harvard can do better"

outside, 150 rallied for custodial wage increases and healthcare subsidies

inside, the union resumed contract talks with harvard

@tmbierwerth and i report for @thecrimson:

https://t.co/mqF6PZoOMM

#labor #rally

[Amann Mahajan @amannmahajan]

As Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences sought to cut costs, it turned to a pricey partner: McKinsey, one of the world’s most expensive consulting firms.

w/ @abbysgerstein in @thecrimson :

https://t.co/gTGVbxVKm1

[Amann Mahajan @amannmahajan]

Jeff Lichtman entered a January meeting with FAS Dean Hopi Hoekstra prepared to discuss faculty hiring in his role as Dean of Science.

Instead, Hoekstra fired him.

Inside Lichtman’s removal w/ @abbysgerstein in @thecrimson : 

https://t.co/EEFJqNfu3m

[The Harvard Crimson @thecrimson]

Entrepreneurship interest is increasing among Harvard students, driven by rising salaries and shifts in the startup economy — though investors and alumni say University support for founders is subpar.

@sidhidhanda and Stephanie Dragoi report.

https://t.co/eMbXovUfHX

[Abby Shih Gerstein @abbysgerstein]

Only 20% of Harvard undergrads would get As under a new proposal from faculty to rein in grade inflation — with just four additional As allowed per class.

More on Harvard's latest attempt to recenter academics in @thecrimson w/ @amannmahajan
https://t.co/qNsI9WqUVE

[The Harvard Crimson @thecrimson]

Former Harvard Hillel leaders personally solicited donations from convicted sex offender Jeffrey E. Epstein in 2010 and 2011, according to emails released Friday by the DOJ.

@HugoChiassonn, @SebastianC4784, and @EliseSpenner report.

https://t.co/eZFNRdnFIK

[The Harvard Crimson @thecrimson]

NEW: Harvard faculty awarded significantly fewer A grades in the fall, nearly seven percentage points less, amidst an effort to combat grade inflation, according to an email obtained by The Crimson.

@abbysgerstein and @amannmahajan report.

https://t.co/Tuu8PbO2bD

[The Harvard Crimson @thecrimson]

NEW: Harvard President Alan Garber said the University “went wrong” by allowing faculty activism in the classroom, arguing professors’ political views have chilled free speech and debate on campus.

@EliseSpenner and @HugoChiassonn report.

https://t.co/CsyA2gfQNK

[Elise Spenner @EliseSpenner]

NEW: Harvard President Alan M. Garber '76 will remain at the helm of the University indefinitely, according to a Monday announcement from Harvard Corporation Senior Fellow Penny S. Pritzker ’81.
https://t.co/ZE5Ch9BxrK

[The Harvard Crimson @thecrimson]

#BREAKING: Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 will continue to lead the University beyond June 30, 2027, after Harvard’s governing boards agreed to extend his presidency for an indefinite period.

@HugoChiassonn and @EliseSpenner report.

https://t.co/spD5ULxaKb