New era for the Bok Center
Karen Thornber.Photo by Grace DuVal Campus & Community New era for the Bok Center Eileen O’Grady Harvard Staff Writer February 14, 2025 8 min read Director shares vision for innovative teaching and learning As Karen Thornber envisions the next chapter for the Bok Center, connection, collaboration, and innovation are her guiding principles. Since Hopi Hoekstra, the Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, appointed Thornber to the role of Richard L. Menschel Faculty Director of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning in July, the Harry Tuchman Levin Professor in Literature and Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations has set her sights on expanding the reach and deepening the impact of the center, which has served the Faculty of Arts and Sciences community for 50 years. For Thornber, who also co-chairs the FAS Civil Discourse Advisory Group and serves on the Generative AI Faculty Advisory Committee, fostering constructive conversations about difficult topics in the classroom...