Natasha Reed

The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures is saddened to report the passing of Dr. Natasha Reed. She earned her Ph.D. in Slavic Languages & Literatures from Harvard University in 1994, held Assistant Professorships at College of the Holy Cross and Princeton University, and then went on to spend much of her brilliant career in our Department, serving as Lecturer (2000–2003) and Preceptor (2003–2014), before moving to the Harvard Division of Continuing Education as a Continuing Education/Special Programs Instructor (2009–2017). Over more than two decades in the classroom, she guided students through every level of Russian—from beginning and intensive sequences to advanced conversation, grammar, literature, and poetry, as well as specialized courses for heritage speakers and instructors. Perhaps her greatest gift was the way she drew students into the stories and poems they read in class, building their language skills while simultaneously nurturing a love of Russian literature.