Dunster House
Harvard University
The central tower of Dunster House
Shield
Location	945 Memorial Drive
Coordinates	42°22′07″N71°06′58″W / 42.3686°N 71.1162°W /42.3686; -71.1162
Full name	Henry Dunster House
Established	1930
Named for	Henry Dunster
Sister college	Berkeley College
Faculty Deans	Sean Kelly and Cheryl Chen
Dean	Gregory Davis
HoCo chairs	Haley Kwoun and Avi Gulati[1]
Tutors	19
Website	dunster.harvard.edu
Map
Location in Massachusetts

Dunster House is one of 12 undergraduateresidential houses atHarvard University. Built in 1930, it is one of the first two Harvard dormitories constructed under PresidentAbbott Lawrence Lowell's House Plan and one of the seven Houses given to Harvard byEdward Harkness. In the early days, room rents varied based on the floor and the size of the room. Dunster was unique among Harvard dormitories for its sixth-story walk-up (it had no elevators); these rooms were originally rented by poorer students, such asNorman Mailer.

The House was named in honor ofHenry Dunster, Harvard's firstpresident.

Dunster House's tower is inspired by, but somewhat smaller than,Tom Tower ofChrist Church, Oxford. Above the east wing is the Dunster familycoat of arms, and above the west wing is the coat of arms ofMagdalene College, Cambridge, where Henry Dunster matriculated in 1627.^[2] Magdalene College commemorated the relationship between the two universities by sending medievaltracery stones from theFirst Court of Magdalene; these are now set in the wall near the doors to J-entry of Dunster House.^[3]

Dunster is on the banks of theCharles River next to theJohn W. Weeks Footbridge, which links Harvard'sAllston andCambridge 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.^[4] It was the first of Harvard's residential houses to undergo such a renewal.^[5]

Like many of Harvard's Houses, Dunster has many yearly traditions, including Keg Races in the fall, aMessiah singalong in the winter,^[6] a Goat Roast in the spring, and the yearly Dunster House Opera.^[7] It is known as one of the more social houses, with Stein Clubs and formals in either the dining hall or courtyard.

As of the 2017-18 academic year, Dunster's Faculty Deans (formerly known as "house masters") areSean Kelly and Cheryl Chen.^[8] The House's first master wasChester N. Greenough (Harvard class of 1898), an English professor and former dean of Harvard College. Former faculty deans/house masters includeRoger Porter and Ann Porter,Raoul Bott, andSally Falk Moore and Cresap Moore. Gregory Davis currently serves as the Allston Burr Resident Dean.^[9] His predecessor was Michael Uy.^[10]

Dunster's mascot is themoose, inspired by the three goldenelk on the Dunsterfamily crest.

Dunster House opened in 1930, and contains student rooms, a faculty dean residence, and a dining hall with views of the Charles River.^[11]

• 
  Al Gore
• 
  Darren Aronofsky
• 
  Caspar Weinberger
• 
  Susan Faludi
• 
  Roger Ferguson
• 
  Al Franken
• 
  David Halberstam
• 
  Tommy Lee Jones
• 
  Norman Mailer
• 
  Deval Patrick
• 
  Lisa Randall
• 
  Roger Rosenblatt
• 
  Danielle Sassoon

Al Gore andTommy Lee Jones were roommates at Dunster House in the late 1960s. Other notable Dunster alumni includeTatyana Ali,Christopher Durang,Lindsay Hyde,Dan Wilson,Michael Mainelli,Jean Kwok, andDanielle Sassoon.^[12] In 1995, residentSinedu Tadesse killed her roommateTrang Ho in Dunster before committing suicide in a closet.^[13]

• Dunster House official site

• Harvard Houses
• Houses completed in 1930
• Clock towers in Massachusetts
• 1930 establishments in Massachusetts

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• Articles with short description
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• Coordinates on Wikidata