Dunster House

History

Dunster House's tower is inspired by, but somewhat smaller than, Tom Tower of Christ Church, Oxford. Above the east wing is the Dunster family coat of arms, and above the west wing is the coat of arms of Magdalene College, Cambridge, where Henry Dunster matriculated in 1627. Magdalene College commemorated the relationship between the two universities by sending medieval tracery stones from the First Court of Magdalene; these are now set in the wall near the doors to J-entry of Dunster House.

Dunster is on the banks of the Charles River next to the John W. Weeks Footbridge, which links Harvard's Allston and Cambridge campuses. From above, its architectural shape, unusual among the River Houses, resembles a branching flowchart due to the odd trapezoidal footprint of the land on which it was built. Dunster underwent a "full House renewal", a comprehensive renovation, that was completed in 2016. It was the first of Harvard's residential houses to undergo such a renewal.

Like many of Harvard's Houses, Dunster has many yearly traditions, including Keg Races in the fall, a Messiah singalong in the winter, a Goat Roast in the spring, and the yearly Dunster House Opera. It is known as one of the more social houses, with Stein Clubs and formals in either the dining hall or courtyard.

Dunster's Faculty Deans (formerly known as "house masters") are Taeku and Shirley Lee. The House's first master was Chester N. Greenough (Harvard class of 1898), an English professor and former dean of Harvard College. Former faculty deans/house masters include Sean Kelly and Cheryl Chen, Roger Porter and Ann Porter, Raoul Bott, and Sally Falk Moore and Cresap Moore. Gregory Davis currently serves as the Allston Burr Resident Dean.

Dunster's mascot is the moose, inspired by the three golden elk on the Dunster family crest.

Physical building

Dunster House opened in 1930, and contains student rooms, a faculty dean residence, and a dining hall with views of the Charles River.

List of housemaster(s) / faculty dean(s)

Notable alumni

File:Al Gore, Vice President of the United States, official portrait 1994.jpg| File:OIFF 2015-07-17 193547 - Darren Aronofsky.jpg| File:Caspar Weinberger official photo.jpg| File:Susan Faludi.JPG| File:RogerWFergusonJr.jpg| File:Al Franken Official Senate Portrait.jpg| File:David Halberstam LOC.jpeg| File:TommyLeeJones07TIFF cropped.jpg| File:Norman Mailer 1948 (cropped).jpg| File:Deval 1.jpg| File:Lisa-randall-at-ted-cropped.jpg| File:Roger Rosenblatt 2014.jpg| File:Danielle sassoon (cropped).jpg| File:Harvard Alumni Day 2025 - Alan Garber 21.jpg|alt=| File:Ryan Fitzpatrick Thursday Night Football DEC2023 (cropped).jpg|Ryan Fitzpatrick

Al Gore and Tommy Lee Jones were roommates at Dunster House in the late 1960s. Other notable Dunster alumni include Tatyana Ali, Christopher Durang, Lindsay Hyde, Dan Wilson, Michael Mainelli, Jean Kwok, Alan Garber, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Danielle Sassoon. In 1995, resident Sinedu Tadesse killed her roommate Trang Ho in Dunster before dying by suicide in a closet.

Notes

References

1. {{acad
2. "Dunster House: History". The President and Fellows of Harvard College.
3. (2016-03-31). "Dunster House renewed". Harvard Gazette.
4. Manning, Colin. (30 January 2014). "Dunster Reimagined". The President and Fellows of Harvard College.
5. (2013-12-16). "Inside the annual 'Messiah' sing". Harvard Gazette.
6. (2011-02-17). "A look inside: Dunster House". Harvard Gazette.
7. "Government Professor Taeku Lee, Education Specialist Shirley Lee Named Next Dunster Faculty Deans {{!}} News {{!}} The Harvard Crimson".
8. "Allston Burr Resident Deans and Assistant Deans of Harvard College".
9. "Dunster, Mather House Faculty Deans Settle Into New Positions {{!}} News {{!}} The Harvard Crimson".
10. "History".
11. [https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1929/11/26/master-of-dunster-house-pprofessor-c/]
12. [https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/4/oa_monograph/chapter/2279820]''JHU Press'', 2011, p.62
13. [https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1934/2/26/haring-probable-choice-as-master-of/]
14. [https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1953/3/4/a-human-engineer-pearly-each-sunday/]
15. [https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1961/1/12/pappenheimer-selected-dunster-house-master-palwin/]
16. [https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1961/1/12/pappenheimer-selected-dunster-house-master-palwin/]
17. [https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1972/12/12/rosenblatt-to-join-foundation-will-leave/]
18. [https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2002/09/mastering-in-the-70s-html] ''Harvard Magazine'', 2002
19. [https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1978/2/27/dunster-master-search-pdean-fox-has/]
20. [https://legacy-www.math.harvard.edu/history/bott/bottbio/node5.html]
21. [https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1981/9/29/bott-dunster-house-master-to-take/]
22. [https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2022/11/sally-falk-moore-97/]
23. [https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1989/7/11/new-dunster-masters-chosen-pbigelow-professor/]
24. [https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2001/5/2/presidency-professor-named-dunster-master-pprominent/]
25. [https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/4/26/mather-dunster-faculty-deans/]
26. [https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/newsplus/taeku-and-shirley-lee-named-faculty-deans-of-dunster-house/]
27. [https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2008/05/jewish-center-names-prize-winners/ "Jewish Center names prize winners,"] ''The Harvard Gazette'', May 22, 2008.
28. "Fitzpatrick, Brate Combine for First Harvard Touchdown in NFL History {{!}} Sports {{!}} The Harvard Crimson".
29. Thernstrom, Melanie. ''Halfway Heaven: Diary of a Harvard Murder''. Plume Books, September 1998. ({{ISBN. 0-452-28007-9)