History of Harvard University have rightly left behind" and "abhorrent and an affront to the values of our university". As late as the 1950s, Wilbur Bender, then the dean of admissions for Harvard College, was seeking better ways to "detect homosexual tendencies and serious psychiatric problems" in prospective students. History of Harvard University Harvard College, around which Harvard University eventually grew, was founded in 1636 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, making it the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. For centuries, its graduates dominated Massachusetts' clerical and civil ranks and beginning in the 19th century its stature became national, then international, as a
Harvard University be the first to be predominantly (50.8%) nonwhite. Harvard's undergraduate admission policies on preference for children of alumni has been criticized as favoring white, wealthy candidates. Admission is based on academic prowess, extracurricular activities and "personality" (judged subjectively by admissions officers who have not met the applicants), and it is alleged that this approach discriminates against Asians. Harvard is a large, highly residential research university. The university has been accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges since 1929. The university offers 46 undergraduate concentrations (majors), 134 graduate degrees, and 32 professional degrees. For the 2008–2009 academic year,