Most Recent Newsletter – Summer 2026
Welcome to the summer newsletter of the Harkness Fellows Association.
This newsletter arrives whilst memories of this year’s Summer Lecture and Reception are fresh. June 3rd 2026 found more than 50 Harkness Fellows at Bush House in London hearing about recent events at Harvard from HF Prof. David Armitage and discussing the future of academic freedom. This was the first gathering of alumni since the Harkness@100 conference in November 2025.
Save the Date for 2027 – Wednesday June 9th early evening in London. Maybe you can plan other London activities around the date. Fellows from around the world welcome. Note Martin Sixsmith’s tribute to Alastair Cooke and send us “Letters from…..” for places you work, live or travel to.
The HFA committee are looking to build on the popularity of the Harkness Centenary Discussions and find topics that many Fellows would like to engage with. Watch out for a survey later in the year.
Harkness Centenary Conference
Reggie Williams, Senior VP for Promoting International Learning and Exchange at the Commonwealth Fund welcomed some 300 Harkness Fellows from many countries to a conference to recognise Harkness@100 in Barcelona in November 2025. With inspiring speakers, engaging workshops and cultural opportunities, Fellows valued the international learning the conference offered. Many hope there will be more international conferences. See the work of Harkness Artists exhibited at the Conference.
In the meantime, Save the Date for the next London based Harkness gathering – June 9th 2027.
Letters from America and elsewhere
The Barcelona conference reminded us how much value there is in international learning. Martin Sixsmith’s tribute to Alastair Cooke and his Letter from America is shared here. Cooke helped us understand his adopted country through broadcasts about everyday life as well as major political events. As Martin says, “you listened, and enjoyed, and came back for more”.
Please share stories about your travels or home country that give insight into the current views and values in these countries.
The first is a Letter from Mexico.
The World Around Us: Harkness Talks
After a busy centenary year, HFA set up events at a gentler pace this year. The range of topics reflect Harkness Fellow curiosity about the world today. Early in the year Dave Edmonds took Fellows ‘From Philosophical Thought Experiment to Global Ethics’ – an interesting foray into philosophy and economics. See more here »
In spring, Sir Michael Fallon helped the audience consider the future of the UK:US defence relationship; find a summary here »
On September 30th the guest speaker will be considering “What is needed for enduring peace in the Middle East?” Watch out for flyers.
Harkness Networks
Excellent though the formal activities were in Barcelona, much of the learning and support came from other Fellows. Fellows from different generations can help each other. More recent Fellows may be looking for contacts to help pursue their learning back home; earlier fellows in senior roles may want a better understanding of more modern concepts.
Self-help networks are being set up for those in Higher Education, those in executive management roles and clinicians in clinical practice. What’s App based, Fellows will have control over the degree to which they engage. Let us know if you are interested by emailing Lizzie – admin@harknessfellows.org.uk
Last year we asked Harkness Writers to let us know about Publications linked to their Harkness year – you may like to read the following. Let us know if you are publishing.
Andrew Rabeneck’s (HF 1967-69) Covid project was to write a memoir, containing a detailed account of his Fellowship at Berkeley . He was a contemporary of Frank Duffy and John Worthington, both of whose life stories are also on Lives Retold. See his books on construction history.
Matt Harris (HF 2014-15) has published two books, with a third on the way, based on his Fellowship research; ‘Decolonising Healthcare Innovation: low-cost solutions from low-income countries’. A second volume called the Oxford Handbook of Healthcare Innovation (Oxford University Press) was published this year.
Peter Acton, (HF 1978- 80) says he cannot claim his recently published book, Clouds, Birds, Frogs and Me, the purported autobiography of the great comic poet Aristophanes, owes anything to his time as a Harkness Fellow but its endorsement from Sir Stephen Fry might encourage interest from readers. See more here »
Nicola Gray (HF 2001-2) explored the ways in which adolescents were using new technology (the internet!) to find information about medicines and health as a fellow in NY. 20+ years later the need to build the health literacy of adolescents remains the same and she has published Adolescent Health and Well-being with two colleagues, presenting adolescents as powerful agents in their own destiny.
Prof. Seweryn ‘Sev’ Ozdowski (HF 1984-86) has shared his alumni story with us – see here » His career has significantly advanced Australia’s multicultural and human rights policies and institutions. He has published extensively see here »
We are sorry to report the deaths of the following Harkness Fellows:
Frank Duffy CBE (HF1967-69) Architect and president of the RIBA died February 2026, see more about his career here »
Sir Terry Farrell, (HF 1962-64) Architect and urban designer died in September 2025. Sir Terry gave the Annual Harkness Lecture in 2017 – see here. More about Sir Terry here
Henry Montague Frey (CFF 1955-1957), passed away on 20th April 2026, , just less than a month after his 97th Birthday. See more about Prof Monty Frey here
Please send us updates about yourself. We know that Harkness Fellows like to hear about fellow alumni but we can only share what we told. These should be sent to admin@harknessfellows.org.uk