A Conversation with Dean Deming

Harvard College Danoff Dean David Deming hosted an open forum in the Winthrop House Junior Common Room on Nov. 12, inviting undergraduates to discuss the updates on institutional policies, culture, student engagement, and more. Approximately 20 students attended, ready to ask questions ranging from increases in the student activity fund, free laundry, and an initiative that seeks to recenter academics at the College.

The Danoff Dean oversees undergraduate academic and student life. Although not all of the recent institutional changes are directly related to Deming’s projects, he is nonetheless tasked with supporting those charged with executing them. Recognizing student opposition to the push against grade inflation, Deming stressed that the Office of Undergraduate Education’s report was not intended to spur any immediate change to undergraduate assessments, but rather to introduce a campus conversation around the topic. 

“This was a report that was intended to actually bring some transparency to a conversation that is just beginning to happen among the faculty; we want to involve the students in the learning,” Deming said. “Nothing’s happening. There is no change, and everything is the same… But what this does do is start a conversation.”

The grading report follows an earlier document commissioned by former Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana and released in 2023. After concluding that grades had dramatically risen over the past decades and identifying solutions that other colleges utilize, the 2025 update dives deeper into grading, workload, and a more defined list of recommendations that may work at the undergraduate level.

Regardless of the opinions felt by students across the College’s campus, the administration has made a concerted effort to get buy-in from the student body, such as hosting office hours with the Dean of Undergraduate Education and point person on the report, Amanda Claybaugh. 

“Claybaugh had office hours and met with 55 students [in-person] in her office hours. I myself have met with dozens of students talking about it in a lot of conversations. It’s really important that we understand how this reads to you guys, and what you think we should do,” Deming continued.

Deming believes that the ideas discussed around grading will benefit students. “Some of the things that are proposed or that people are talking about could encourage risk-taking,” he shared. “Just to give you one example, one of the proposals in there is what they call ‘median grade.’ I would call it a delta grade, where it’s basically if you record the average grade in each class on a transcript, and then you also see some of these grades, you can sort of figure out what the difference is.” 

The idea behind this delta grade is that it encourages people to take more rigorous, mentally stimulating courses regardless of the grading consequence. “That actually encourages risk-taking, because if you wanted to take classes where there’s more variation in grades and you get an A, that’s worth a lot more,” he said.

Another topic on the discussion table was the announced increase in the student activity fee, which raises the annual tuition cost from $200 to $450 and makes it a required expense in exchange for free laundry. “It’s money from you, for you. I hope that there will be a much more robust pool of resources for students to plan activities for themselves, and you guys have more fun with it,” Deming said.

According to the University, the student activity fee funds student organizations, student life activities, and operations for Harvard College students. At the moment, students are permitted to write a letter to opt out of paying the student activity fee. The change came as the College claimed that an increasing number of students were electing not to pay; this adjustment is expected to begin at the start of the next academic year, with free laundry starting on Jan. 1, 2026. 

Deming also added that if the University does not approve the added cost to be covered by financial aid, “we, the College, will cover from our own budget so the students who are on financial aid are not [disadvantaged].”

As Deming looked ahead regarding Harvard’s place in the world, he believed that one of the biggest challenges was people’s perception of the University. “I think the single biggest challenge facing Harvard is that too few people in this country, in the world, see themselves in what we do,” he said. “We are at risk, not just from the Trump administration, but politically at risk in general, from both sides of the aisle, actually, because people think Harvard is for the elites, by the elites, and it doesn’t serve the country.”

Harvard has come under fire from Trump and Republicans for not having enough right-wing viewpoints. Trump, on multiple occasions, has called Harvard a “threat to democracy,” and a “liberal mess.” Critics also point to the fact that Harvard has a studied bias toward accepting wealthy students.

Deming argued that this perception is more of a PR issue than a reflection of the school. “Very few people know that Harvard College is tuition free for families; for most families who earn $200,000 or less, which is like close to 90% of American families, [a] very high share of our students are on financial aid,” he said.

The public knows Harvard best for its academics, but Deming points out that the College is exemplary in areas outside of academics. “Very few people know that we have a moderate number of military veterans enrolled, that we have more Medal of Honor recipients than any other university other than the service academies, that we had 13 Olympic medals in the Paris Games, that we have twice as many Rhode Scholars,” he shared.

As Harvard seeks to improve its public image, Deming aims to increase student buy-in for informing the public. “How can we talk about what we do?” he asked. “How can we actually be a place that provides opportunity for students, and it helps students go out and serve the public good, and talk about the great things you guys are doing in the world for [others] so that people can see?”

“My long-run goal, however long I last, is not just [making] Harvard a better place for [students] but also expanding in the eyes of the public. So we continue to do the great thing here—and that’s not one initiative.”

Kalvin Frank ’28 (kfrank@college.harvard.edu) writes News for the Harvard Independent.