Currier House
Encyclopedia
Currier House is one of twelve undergraduate residential Houses of Harvard College
, in Cambridge, Massachusetts
, USA. Opened in September 1970, it is named after Audrey Bruce Currier, a member of the Radcliffe College
Class of 1956 who, along with her husband, was killed in a plane crash in 1967. The area was formerly used as housing for Radcliffe College
, and as such the four towers of Currier House are named for distinguished alumnae of Radcliffe, including the author Barbara Tuchman
and composer Mabel Daniels. Along with Cabot House
and Pforzheimer House
, Currier is part of the former Radcliffe Quadrangle
, known colloquially within the college as simply, "The Quad".
and Elizabeth Ross
. Wrangham and Ross first came to the United States after living in Great Britain. Wrangham has taught courses in human evolutionary biology and anthropology since 1989. Ross, whose academic background is in immunology, is the founder and executive director of the Kasiisi Project, a non-profit in western Uganda. The Allston Burr Resident Dean is Laura Johnson. Previous masters have included scholar of Islam
and current Dean of Harvard Divinity School
William A. Graham, chemist and Nobel
laureate Dudley R. Herschbach
, and classicist
Gregory Nagy
.
Most of Currier's bedrooms are single bedrooms connected by a sinkroom or full private bathroom, a rarity at Harvard (where most dormitories date to the 1920s and are now relatively crowded.) The house is also known for the "Ten-Man," a suite of ten single bedrooms surrounding the largest in-suite common room at Harvard College.
, to organize student events and manage funding. The Currier HoCo, as the other student government organizations in the Houses, are funded by the UC and maintained by an executive council run my students in leadership positions. Elections for the two Chair positions, as well as all other social organization positions, are held every January during the Super Bowl Halftime show, broadcast in the Fishbowl common space. The two HoCo co-chairs are James Sanghyun Yoon and Archana Vamanrao.
, Michael Chertoff
, Bill Gates
, Steve Ballmer
, Caroline Kennedy
, Neil deGrasse Tyson
, Alan Khazei
, and Yo-Yo Ma
.
Gates and Ballmer met in Currier House, where the two lived on the same floor, and formed a friendship that later led Gates to recruit his college friend to join his budding software company. Gates also described during his 2007 commencement address at Harvard how he initiated one of his first software deals while making a call from his room in Currier House.
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
, in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, USA. Opened in September 1970, it is named after Audrey Bruce Currier, a member of the Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was the coordinate college for Harvard University. It was also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. Radcliffe College conferred joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas beginning in 1963 and a formal merger agreement with...
Class of 1956 who, along with her husband, was killed in a plane crash in 1967. The area was formerly used as housing for Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was the coordinate college for Harvard University. It was also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. Radcliffe College conferred joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas beginning in 1963 and a formal merger agreement with...
, and as such the four towers of Currier House are named for distinguished alumnae of Radcliffe, including the author Barbara Tuchman
Barbara Tuchman
Barbara Wertheim Tuchman was an American historian and author. She became known for her best-selling book The Guns of August, a history of the prelude to and first month of World War I, which won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1963....
and composer Mabel Daniels. Along with Cabot House
Cabot House
Cabot House is one of twelve undergraduate residential Houses at Harvard University. Cabot House derives from the merger in 1970 of South and East House, which took the name South House , until the name was changed and the House reincorporated in 1984 to honor Harvard benefactors Thomas Cabot and...
and Pforzheimer House
Pforzheimer House
Pforzheimer House, nicknamed PfoHo , is one of twelve undergraduate residential Houses at Harvard University. It was named in 1995 for Carol K. and Carl H...
, Currier is part of the former Radcliffe Quadrangle
Quadrangle (Harvard)
The Quadrangle at Harvard University, formerly called the Radcliffe Quadrangle or the Harvard Annex dorms, is part of Harvard's undergraduate campus, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Generally just called the Quad, it is a traditional college quad except that it is not located in, or even...
, known colloquially within the college as simply, "The Quad".
Housemasters and Resident Dean
Beginning in September 2008, Currier House will welcome new Housemasters Richard WranghamRichard Wrangham
Richard W. Wrangham is a British primatologist. He is the Ruth Moore Professor of Biological Anthropology at Harvard University and his research group is now part of the newly established Department of Human Evolutionary Biology....
and Elizabeth Ross
Elizabeth Ross
Elizabeth Ross may refer to:* Betty Ross, fictional character in Marvel Comics*Liz Ross, activist and author...
. Wrangham and Ross first came to the United States after living in Great Britain. Wrangham has taught courses in human evolutionary biology and anthropology since 1989. Ross, whose academic background is in immunology, is the founder and executive director of the Kasiisi Project, a non-profit in western Uganda. The Allston Burr Resident Dean is Laura Johnson. Previous masters have included scholar of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and current Dean of Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. The School's mission is to train and educate its students either in the academic study of religion, or for the practice of a religious ministry or other public...
William A. Graham, chemist and Nobel
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
laureate Dudley R. Herschbach
Dudley R. Herschbach
Dudley Robert Herschbach is an American chemist at Harvard University. He won the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry jointly with Yuan T. Lee and John C...
, and classicist
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
Gregory Nagy
Gregory Nagy
Gregory Nagy , born in Budapest Hungary in 1942, is an American professor of Classics at Harvard University, specializing in Homer and archaic Greek poetry. Nagy is known for extending Milman Parry and Albert Lord's theories about the oral composition-in-performance of the Iliad and Odyssey...
.
Social atmosphere
Because of its distance from most of the other residential houses, its physical layout (which places most of the house's social space near the entrance), and its small size (it has the smallest population of any house), many Currier residents consider the house to have one of the strongest and most cohesive house communities of Harvard's residential houses. Students routinely rank Currier's dining hall highest among Harvard dining halls in food quality. In 2005, Currier renovated a common space known as the "Fishbowl" to create an entertainment center complete with a big screen projector and surround sound system. In early 2006, Currier painted many of its interior walls to produce a more colorful atmosphere.Most of Currier's bedrooms are single bedrooms connected by a sinkroom or full private bathroom, a rarity at Harvard (where most dormitories date to the 1920s and are now relatively crowded.) The house is also known for the "Ten-Man," a suite of ten single bedrooms surrounding the largest in-suite common room at Harvard College.
Athletic success
In 2004-2005, Currier House won the Straus Cup for the first time in over twenty years. The cup is given to the house that scores the most points in intramural athletic competition during the school year.Student government
Student Government in Currier House consists of the Currier House Committee, of which all house residents are members. The committee operates separate from the Harvard Undergraduate CouncilHarvard Undergraduate Council
The Harvard Undergraduate Council, colloquially known as "the UC", is the representative student government of Harvard College. The Council was established in 1982 by a vote of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences and student referendum...
, to organize student events and manage funding. The Currier HoCo, as the other student government organizations in the Houses, are funded by the UC and maintained by an executive council run my students in leadership positions. Elections for the two Chair positions, as well as all other social organization positions, are held every January during the Super Bowl Halftime show, broadcast in the Fishbowl common space. The two HoCo co-chairs are James Sanghyun Yoon and Archana Vamanrao.
Famous alumni
Famous alumni include Paul AttanasioPaul Attanasio
Paul Albert Attanasio is an American screenwriter and producer of film and television, who is currently an executive producer on the television series House.-Life and career:...
, Michael Chertoff
Michael Chertoff
Michael Chertoff was the second United States Secretary of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush and co-author of the USA PATRIOT Act. He previously served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, as a federal prosecutor, and as assistant U.S. Attorney...
, Bill Gates
Bill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
, Steve Ballmer
Steve Ballmer
Steven Anthony "Steve" Ballmer is an American business magnate. He is the chief executive officer of Microsoft, having held that post since January 2000. , his personal wealth is estimated at US$13.9 billion, ranking number 19 on the Forbes 400.-Early life:Ballmer was born in Detroit, Michigan to...
, Caroline Kennedy
Caroline Kennedy
Caroline Bouvier Kennedy is an American author and attorney. She is a member of the influential Kennedy family and the only surviving child of U.S. President John F...
, Neil deGrasse Tyson
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Neil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist, a science communicator, the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space, and a Research Associate in the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History...
, Alan Khazei
Alan Khazei
Alan Khazei is an American social entrepreneur. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Be the Change, Inc., a Boston-based group dedicated to building national coalitions of non-profit organizations and citizens to enact legislation on issues such as poverty and education...
, and Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma is an American cellist, virtuoso, and orchestral composer. He has received multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011...
.
Gates and Ballmer met in Currier House, where the two lived on the same floor, and formed a friendship that later led Gates to recruit his college friend to join his budding software company. Gates also described during his 2007 commencement address at Harvard how he initiated one of his first software deals while making a call from his room in Currier House.