New department approved

The Harvard Corporation has approved, with the support of the deans of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) and the Harvard Medical School (HMS), the establishment of a new Department of Developmental and Regenerative Biology, the first academic department in Harvard’s 371-year history to be based in more than one of the University’s Schools. The new department will bring together researchers from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Harvard Medical School.

The establishment of academic departments bringing together faculty from different Schools within Harvard — and specifically the creation of a Department of Developmental and Regenerative Biology — was a key recommendation of the University Planning Committee for Science and Engineering. That body was created last year to assess science and engineering research and education at Harvard and propose ways for the University to take advantage of opportunities in multidisciplinary areas of science and engineering.