Dunster House

Dunster House
Harvard University
The central tower of Dunster House
Shield
Location	945 Memorial Drive
Coordinates	42°22′07″N71°06′58″W / 42.3686°N 71.1162°W / 42.3686; -71.1162
Full name	Henry Dunster House
Established	1930
Named for	Henry Dunster
Sister college	Berkeley College
Faculty Deans	Taeku and Shirley Lee
Dean	Gregory Davis
HoCo chairs	Ellie Cassidy and Spencer Lee
Tutors	19
Website	dunster.harvard.edu

Dunster House is one of 12 undergraduate residential houses at Harvard University. Built in 1930, it is one of the first two Harvard dormitories constructed under President Abbott Lawrence Lowell's House Plan and one of the seven Houses given to Harvard by Edward Harkness. In the early days, room rents varied based on the floor and the size of the room. Dunster was unique among Harvard dormitories for its sixth-story walk-up (it had no elevators); these rooms were originally rented by poorer students, such as Norman Mailer.

The House was named in honor of Henry Dunster, Harvard's first president.

History

Dunster House's tower is inspired by, but somewhat smaller than, Tom Tower of Christ Church, Oxford. Above the east wing is the Dunster family coat of arms, and above the west wing is the coat of arms of Magdalene College, Cambridge, where Henry Dunster matriculated in 1627. ^[1] Magdalene College commemorated the relationship between the two universities by sending medieval tracery stones from the First Court of Magdalene; these are now set in the wall near the doors to J-entry of Dunster House. ^[2]

Dunster is on the banks of the Charles River next to the John W. Weeks Footbridge, which links Harvard's Allston and Cambridge campuses. From above, its architectural shape, unusual among the River Houses, resembles a branching flowchart due to the odd trapezoidal footprint of the land on which it was built. Dunster underwent a "full House renewal", a comprehensive renovation, that was completed in 2016. ^[3] It was the first of Harvard's residential houses to undergo such a renewal. ^[4]

Like many of Harvard's Houses, Dunster has many yearly traditions, including Keg Races in the fall, a Messiah singalong in the winter, ^[5] a Goat Roast in the spring, and the yearly Dunster House Opera. ^[6] It is known as one of the more social houses, with Stein Clubs and formals in either the dining hall or courtyard.

Dunster's Faculty Deans (formerly known as "house masters") are Taeku and Shirley Lee. ^[7] The House's first master was Chester N. Greenough (Harvard class of 1898), an English professor and former dean of Harvard College. Former faculty deans/house masters include Sean Kelly and Cheryl Chen, Roger Porter and Ann Porter, Raoul Bott, and Sally Falk Moore and Cresap Moore. Gregory Davis currently serves as the Allston Burr Resident Dean. ^{[8] [9]}

Dunster's mascot is the moose, inspired by the three golden elk on the Dunster family crest.

Physical building

Dunster House opened in 1930, and contains student rooms, a faculty dean residence, and a dining hall with views of the Charles River. ^[10]

List of housemaster(s) / faculty dean(s)

Name(s)	Years of tenure
1930–1934	Chester N. Greenough [11]
1934–1948	Clarence H. Haring [12] [13]
1948–1962	Gordon M. Fair [14] [15]
1962–1970	Alwin Max Pappenheimer Jr. [16]
1970–1973	Roger Rosenblatt [17]
1973–1978	James Vorenberg & Elizabeth Vorenberg [18] [19]
1978–1984	Raoul Bott [20] [21]
1984–1989	Sally Falk Moore & Cresap Moore [22]
1989–2001	Karel F. Liem & Ann Liem [23]
2001–2017	Roger B. Porter & Ann R. Porter [24]
2017–2025	Sean Kelly & Cheryl Chen [25]
2025–(present)	Taeku Lee & Shirley Lee [26]

Notable alumni

• 
  Al Gore
• 
  Darren Aronofsky
• 
  Caspar Weinberger
• 
  Susan Faludi
• 
  Roger Ferguson
• 
  Al Franken
• 
  David Halberstam
• 
  Tommy Lee Jones
• 
  Norman Mailer
• 
  Deval Patrick
• 
  Lisa Randall
• 
  Roger Rosenblatt
• 
  Danielle Sassoon
• 
  Alan Garber

Al Gore and Tommy Lee Jones were roommates at Dunster House in the late 1960s. Other notable Dunster alumni include Tatyana Ali, Christopher Durang, Lindsay Hyde, Dan Wilson, Michael Mainelli, Jean Kwok, Alan Garber, and Danielle Sassoon. ^[27] In 1995, resident Sinedu Tadesse killed her roommate Trang Ho in Dunster before dying by suicide in a closet. ^[28]

Notes

1. "Dunstor, Henry (DNSR627H)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
2. "Dunster House: History". The President and Fellows of Harvard College. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
3. "Dunster House renewed". Harvard Gazette. 2016-03-31. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
4. Manning, Colin (30 January 2014). "Dunster Reimagined". Harvard Gazette . The President and Fellows of Harvard College. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
5. "Inside the annual 'Messiah' sing". Harvard Gazette. 2013-12-16. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
6. "A look inside: Dunster House". Harvard Gazette. 2011-02-17. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
7. "Government Professor Taeku Lee, Education Specialist Shirley Lee Named Next Dunster Faculty Deans | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
8. "Allston Burr Resident Deans and Assistant Deans of Harvard College". Archived from the original on 2018-04-16. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
9. "Dunster, Mather House Faculty Deans Settle Into New Positions | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
10. "History". dunster.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-14.
12. JHU Press, 2011, p.62
18. Harvard Magazine, 2002
27. "Jewish Center names prize winners," The Harvard Gazette, May 22, 2008.
28. Thernstrom, Melanie. Halfway Heaven: Diary of a Harvard Murder. Plume Books, September 1998. ( ISBN   0-452-28007-9)

External links

• Dunster House official site