List of University Professors at Harvard University

This article is about the specific title. For a list of Harvard University faculty members, see List of Harvard University faculty.

At Harvard University, the title of University Professor is the institution's most distinguished professorial post, ^[1] and is conferred upon a select group of 25 tenured faculty members whose scholarship and other professional work have achieved exceptional distinction and influence. ^[2] Established in 1935, this position enables scholars to work across disciplines and at any of Harvard's schools. ^[2]

The number of University Professors has increased over time, made possible by new endowed gifts to the university. In 2006, there were 21 University Professors. ^[3] As of 2022 ^[update] , the total has risen to 25 University Professors. ^[4]

Present Harvard University Professors

Biologists or medical researchers

• Marc Kirschner ^[5] – John Franklin Enders University Professor
• Douglas A. Melton ^[6] – Xander University Professor
• Arlene H. Sharpe ^[7] – Kolokotrones University Professorship
• Catherine Dulac ^[8] – Xander University Professor

Economists

• Claudia Goldin ^[9] – Samuel W. Morris University Professor
• Rebecca M. Henderson ^[6] – John and Natty McArthur University Professor
• Eric Maskin ^[10] – Adams University Professor
• Sir Oliver Hart ^[11] – Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor
• Michael Porter ^[12] – Bishop William Lawrence University Professor
• Amartya Sen – Thomas W. Lamont University Professor
• Lawrence Summers ^[13] – Charles W. Eliot University Professor

Historians and lawyers

• Ann M. Blair ^[14] – Carl H. Pforzheimer University Professor
• Peter Galison ^[15] – Joseph Pellegrino University Professor
• Annette Gordon-Reed ^[16] – Carl M. Loeb University Professor
• Noah Feldman ^[17] – A. Kingsley Porter University Professor
• Cass Sunstein ^[18] – Robert Walmsley University Professor
• Martha Minow ^[15] – Three Hundredth Anniversary University Professor

Political scientists

• Danielle Allen – James Bryant Conant University Professor
• Gary King ^[5] – Albert J. Weatherhead III University Professor

Other disciplines

• Carolyn Abbate ^[19] – Paul and Catherine Buttenwieser University Professor
• Henry Louis Gates Jr. ^[3] – Alphonse Fletcher University Professor
• Stephen Greenblatt ^[20] – John Cogan University Professor
• Mikhail Lukin ^[21] – Joshua and Beth Friedman University Professor
• Barry Mazur ^[22] – Gerhard Gade University Professor
• Cumrun Vafa ^[17] – Timken University Professor
• Robert J. Sampson ^[23] – Woodford L. and Ann A. Flowers University Professor

Past Harvard University Professors

• Paul Farmer ^[24] – Kolokotrones University Professor
• Dale W. Jorgenson – Samuel W. Morris University Professor
• Robert Nozick - Joseph Pellegrino University Professor ^[25]
• Stephen Owen – James Bryant Conant University Professor
• Cornel West – Alphonse Fletcher University Professor, resigned chair and left Harvard in 2002 ^[26]
• George Whitesides - Woodford L. and Ann A. Flowers University Professor ^[27]
• E. O. Wilson – Joseph Pellegrino University Professor

References

1. "Three Named University Professors". Harvard University Gazette. May 28, 1998. Archived from the original on May 23, 2011. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
2. "University Professorships". Harvard University Office of News and Public Affairs. 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2015. Note, this does not include all Professors at the campus.
3. "Gates named Fletcher University Professor". Harvard University Gazette. October 26, 2006. Archived from the original on November 4, 2006. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
4. "University Professorships | Harvard University". Harvard University. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
5. Kavoussi, Bonnie J. (August 3, 2009). "King, Kirschner Named University Professors". Harvard Crimson. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
6. "Faculty Two named University Professors". Harvard Gazette. September 27, 2011. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
7. "Harvard names three new University Professors". Harvard Gazette. November 28, 2022. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
8. "Harvard appoints four University Professors". Harvard Gazette. October 29, 2025. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
9. "Harvard appoints four University Professors". Harvard Gazette. October 29, 2025. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
10. "Maskin named University Professor". Harvard Gazette. September 6, 2012. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
11. "Oliver Hart named University Professor, highest faculty honor". Harvard Gazette. March 2, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
12. Gavel, Doug (December 7, 2000). "Michael Porter named University Professor". Harvard Gazette. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
13. "Summers named Charles W. Eliot University Professor". June 30, 2006. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
14. "Ann Blair named University Professor". Harvard Gazette. November 23, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
15. "Minow named University Professor". Harvard Gazette. June 19, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
16. "Annette Gordon-Reed named University Professor". Harvard Gazette. July 28, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
17. Murphy, Terry (October 29, 2025). "Harvard appoints four University Professors". Harvard Gazette. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
18. "Sunstein a University Professor". Harvard Gazette. February 19, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
19. "Abbate named University Professor". Harvard Gazette. November 20, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
20. "Greenblatt named University Professor of the Humanities". Harvard University Gazette. September 21, 2000. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
21. "Quantum Physicist Mikhail Lukin Appointed University Professor | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
22. Kamath, Vasant M. (November 3, 1998). "Mazur Named University Professor". Harvard Crimson. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
23. "Three Harvard Scholars Named University Professors, Highest Faculty Distinction | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
24. "Paul Farmer appointed University Professor". Harvard Gazette. December 16, 2010. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
25. "Robert Nozick, 1938–2002". Archived April 12, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association, November 2002: 76(2).
26. Cornel West Quitting Harvard. The Washington Post. April 13, 2002. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
27. "George Whitesides | Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology".