Harkness Centenary 1925 - 2025
Celebrating 100 Years of Fellowships
Harkness Centenary
1925 – 2025
Celebrating 100 Years of Fellowships
Celebrating 100 Years of Fellowships
Last year we celebrated the Centenary of the Harkness Fellowships. These were established in 1925 by Edward S Harkness as an expression of his belief that “….international understanding can be forwarded in no more practicable way than through the provision of international opportunities for education and travel to young men and women of character and ability”.
Over those 100 years, some 2,000 Fellows from the UK, Continental Europe and Australasia crossed the Atlantic or the Pacific in pursuit of Edward S Harkness’s dream of furthering “… their education while becoming familiar with the people and culture of the United States”. Many of them upon returning home have become leaders in their fields and indeed, in their countries.
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Celebrating the Centenary
Both the Harkness Fellows Association’s and The Commonwealth Fund’s activities in 2025 offered the opportunity for Harkness Fellows to reconnect, foster collaboration, and share the diverse insights gained from their experiences. This is a time to celebrate the enduring spirit of learning and exchange that defines the fellowship, while also looking ahead to address the pressing challenges of the 21st Century.
Working with the Commonwealth Fund we have a special programme of events planned to mark the Centenary. Some of these will be held in person and some online.
The Work of Harkness Artists
Over the Centenary of Harkness Fellowships there have been Fellows from all walks of life. As part of the preparations for the Harkness@100 conference, the Harkness Fellows Association reached out to as many artists from those 100 years as could be found.
Work from ten of those visual artists was displayed during the Harkness@100 conference. The slides can be seen here. This presentation was prepared by FT Live who supported the Commonwealth Fund who hosted the conference in Barcelona. In addition, information about those artists was shared on the Conference website, as well as links to other Harkness artists. These can be seen here ».
There are many more artists whose work could be shared through this website, for example musicians and writers. Please contact admin@harknessfellows.org.uk if you are such an artist or have knowledge about one that has been missed.
Harkness Centenary Discussions
Addressing the most challenging issues of our time!
Over the last Century, Harkness Fellows have lived through some very turbulent times. The global picture is no less challenging for the 2025/6 cohort.
During the Centenary year Harkness Fellows across the generations came together to discuss six critical issues of our times. For each discussion three or four Fellows gave short contributions to start the debate and audience participation was encouraged. From the crisis in the water industry to energy policy for the future Fellows shared very different perspectives. Likening the NHS to a sports goalkeeper, needing others in the team (social care/housing/poverty reduction) to step up gave interesting insights to the challenge the NHS faces, as did the discussion on Mental Health and the Arts. Consideration of Trump’s impact on democracy proved timely as did the discussion of Higher Education Funding as Universities announced redundancies. See the summaries here.
February,
Topic: Higher Education – “Is the current system of higher education sustainable? Can universities or students afford it?”
March
Topic: Water and the Environment – “Water – what’s gone wrong and what do we do about it?”
April
Topic: Health – “The economic and social determinants of health: can the NHS ever succeed in the current environment?”
May
Topic: “Trump and the New World (Dis)order: What Next”
September
Topic: Energy – “Will the ongoing failures in energy policy condemn the UK to a dark future in the slow lane?”
November
Topic: Wellbeing– “Can the arts and humanities reduce our mental health crisis?”
Harkness Reflections
The Centenary saw the launch of Harkness Reflections, a series of podcasts from the Harkness Fellows Association. In this series of six podcasts, more recent Fellows engage in conversation with earlier Fellows about the impact of the fellowships on their career. Each podcast is very different in style, but all participants are sharing insights, challenges, and lessons learned from their fellowship experience and beyond. Many thanks to those who were willing to share their learning.
Whether you’re a current health leader, policymaker, former or aspiring Fellow, these conversations and interviews offer an interesting window into the transformative power of international learning and collaboration. See here.
Centenary Events in Person
The following events allowed Harkness Fellows to meet in person.
January 2025
Commonwealth Fund Reception to celebrate the 2025/6 Harkness Fellows at the Hoxton Southwark.
June 2025,
Sixty fellows joined a Summer Reception hosted by Sir Simon Stevens and Baroness Neuberger, at the House of Lords, London.
June 2025
States based Fellows joined a reception at the historic Harkness House in New York City/
November 2025
Harkness@100 Conference, organised by the Commonwealth Fund, was held in Barcelona, Spain. Almost 300 Fellows joined from around the world and across sixty decades of Fellowships.
The Harkness Fellows Association
The Harkness Fellows Association and Transatlantic Trust is the alumni association set up in the spirit of the original Harkness Fellowships, with the aim of encouraging transatlantic understanding. Membership is open to all those with an interest in transatlantic relationships. Read more »
Contact Us
Write to Lizzie on admin@harknessfellows.org.uk