Harvard University of downtown Boston. The Arnold Arboretum, in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, is also owned and operated by Harvard. Harvard also owns and operates the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, in Washington, D.C.; the Harvard Forest in Petersham, Massachusetts; the Concord Field Station in Estabrook Woods in Concord, Massachusetts and the Villa I Tatti research center in Florence, Italy. Harvard also operates the Harvard Shanghai Center in China. Harvard is governed by a combination of its Board of Overseers and the President and Fellows of Harvard College (also known as the Harvard Corporation), which in turn appoints the
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,