Kirkland House is one of twelve undergraduate residential Houses at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, located near the

Charles River The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles b ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...

. It was named after

John Thornton Kirkland John Thornton Kirkland (August 17, 1770 – April 26, 1840) was an American Congregational clergyman who served as President of Harvard University from 1810 to 1828. As an undergraduate, he was a member of the Hasty Pudding. He is remembered ch ...

, president of Harvard University from 1810 to 1828.

Background

Some of the buildings were built in 1914 but construction was not completed until 1933. Kirkland is one of the smallest Houses at Harvard, but has nevertheless managed to win many intramural and house-spirit contests, most recently the 2022 Straus Cup. Before Harvard opted to use a lottery system to assign housing to upperclassmen, Kirkland was considered the "jock house" because its location near Anderson Bridge and the Soldiers Field made it a desirable home and convenient place to dine for Harvard athletes. The first Master of Kirkland House was Edward A. Whitney. Walter Eugene Clark succeeded Whitney as the second Master on September 1, 1935. The title of "House Master" was done away with at Harvard University in 2016 and was replaced with the title "Faculty Dean." The current Faculty Deans of Kirkland House are David Deming and Janine Santimauro, and the current Allston Burr Academic Dean is Jack Huguley, Ph.D. Kirkland House boasts many

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

s, such as its opening ceremony (complete with Minutemen reenactors playing the drums and fife as they process around the House, followed by the house Faculty Deans, tutors, and students), Secret Santa week (an in-house-only series of gifts, jokes, and events) -- accompanied by bawdy skits in the dining hall, and a Holiday Dinner and Dance complete with a mock roast boar. Kirkland House has a gym, lounge, game room, meditation room, movie theater, music rooms, and performance and event spaces for students. It also has a wall honoring the history of the Kirkland House Boat Club, which has one of the most decorated records in all of Harvard house rowing. Most recently, head coach Christopher D.H. Row—a resident tutor, art history doctorate and master of divinity—led the KHBC to five consecutive Agassiz Cup victories (1999-2003) and was awarded by the KHBC the title of "Admiral-for-Life" in recognition of that accomplishment. Among the most recent additions is a brewery, operated and maintained by the Kirkland House Brew Club, which occupies the space once used as the house darkroom. Kirkland House is located four blocks south of

Harvard Yard Harvard Yard, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is the oldest part of the Harvard University campus, its historic center and modern crossroads. It contains most of the freshman dormitories, Harvard's most important libraries, Memorial Church, sever ...

, adjacent to

Eliot House Eliot House is one of twelve undergraduate residential Houses at Harvard University. It is one of the seven original houses at the college. Opened in 1931, the house was named after Charles William Eliot, who served as president of the universi ...

, and across Dunster Street from the Malkin Athletic Center. The House Shield contains a black fess with three white stars on a red field. The stars are drawn from the arms of the many branches of the Kirkland family. The shield previously contained a cross on the arms of the Diocese of Carlisle (where the name Kirkland originated), but due to the shield's perceived resemblance to the Confederate battle flag, a modified design was officially approved by the University and adopted on March 6, 2020.Kirkland's History
Retrieved 8 January 2021.

Constituent halls

Kirkland House comprises the following three halls: * Smith Halls * Bryan Hall * Faculty Deans' Residence * Hicks House * 20 Prescott Street apartments Smith Halls, which were constructed in 1914 as freshman dormitories; Bryant Hall and the Masters' Residence, both constructed in 1931; and Hicks House, which dates from 1762 and serves as the House Library. Kirkland students also live in the Prescott Street apartments. Located in Smith Halls, the dining hall and Junior Common Room boast magnificent woodwork and high ceilings that highlight Kirkland's classic charm and elegance.

Notable alumni

File:Mark Zuckerberg at the 37th G8 Summit in Deauville 018 v1.jpg, File:Secretary_Blinken's_Official_Department_Photo.jpg, File:Maura Healey official photo.jpg, File:Jared Kushner cropped.jpg, File:Phil_Murphy_for_Governor_(33782680673)_(cropped).jpg, File:Official Photo of Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) 2008.jpg, File:Dr. Mehmet Oz, August 2016.jpg, File:Wallace Shawn.jpg, File:Pat Toomey official photo (cropped).jpg, File:Eric_Lesser.jpg, File:Kevin_kallaugher_5213090.jpg, File:Charles Murray Speaking at FreedomFest.jpeg, File:Franklin Raines July 2002.jpg, File:Thomas Sowell cropped.jpg, File:UB025 2.jpg, File:Matthew Yglesias cropped.jpg,

Matthew Yglesias Matthew Yglesias (; born May 18, 1981) is a liberal American blogger and journalist who writes about economics and politics. Yglesias has written columns and articles for publications such as ''The American Prospect'', ''The Atlantic'', and ''Sla ...

References

External links

Kirkland House official site
{{Harvard , state=expanded Harvard Houses University and college dormitories in the United States