Harvard’s Leverett House - Known for Its History and Personality

Harvard graduate David Witkin is the CEO of Beryl Capital Management, a merger arbitrage hedge fund, and the vice president of the Redondo Beach Unified School District school board. While a student at Harvard, David Witkin played for the university’s championship baseball team and lived at Leverett House.

Established in 1930, Leverett House is the largest residential house at Harvard. The house is located on the north bank of the Charles River and is known for its quirky personality and enthusiastic house committee, claiming to possess more house pride than any other residence on campus.

Leverett House is made up of recently renovated McKinloch Hall, Leverett Towers, and overflow housing in DeWolfe apartments. Upperclassmen who reside in Leverett House are reported to comment on the spaciousness of the student accommodations and the views of the river that can be captured from many student suites. The house also offers numerous places to study and a library that can also be used as a theater. The word "leveret" also means “young hare,” which has inspired a rabbit motif that appears everywhere in the house and infuses the community's culture.

The house is named for Harvard president John Leverett who presided over the university from 1708 to 1724. President Leverett was an outspoken leader in the liberal movement of the Congregational Church and is credited with founding the liberal tradition of Harvard University. During his tenure he improved the quality of instruction at the institution and maintained Harvard’s prominence as rival Yale University grew in popularity. Some of the house's well-known guests include W. B. Yeats, T. S. Eliot, Robert Frost, and Malcolm X.