Harvard University. Leverett House

One of the twelve undergraduate houses at Harvard, Leverett House was named after John Leverett, who was President of Harvard from 1708 to 1724. Leverett House was completed in 1931, and was comprised of the existing McKinlock Hall and the newly constructed Mather Hall, Dining Hall, and Master's lodgings. Leverett remained in that configuration until the early 1960s when the College expanded and the new Houses were added.

The house system at Harvard began in 1928, under President Lowell with a $13 million dollar gift by Edward Harkness. Modeled after the colleges at Oxford, the system was intended to strengthen the social bonds between students, and to encourage more informal interaction among students, tutors, and faculty. The Houses offer some academic instruction, have their own dining halls and libraries, and promote extracurricular activities relating to music, theater, sports, and other special interests. Each House is overseen by a Master, a senior faculty member who lives in a private residence within the house. House staff includes an Allston Burr Resident Dean (formerly Senior Tutor), responsible for overseeing students' academic and personal well-being, as well as resident and non-resident tutors. The staff and non-resident faculty associates make up the Senior Common Room, which hosts dinners and other events.