Universities in the United States fall into five major categories: private universities, public universities, church universities, public community colleges, and private vocational colleges. A protrusion phenomenon is that 85% of the most excellent universities belong to the first category, namely private universities. This can be seen from the U.S. news and reports in other countries.

　　美国的大学可以分为五大类：私立大学、公立大学、教会大学、公立社区大学和 私立职业大学。一个突出的现象是，最优秀的大学中大约有85%都属于第一类，即私 立大学。这一点从美国新闻和世界报道的排名也可以看出。

　　These private universities are the all “research-oriented universities“，which do not only offer education of high quality but devote to first-class research. Although public universities are funded by the government, the gap between these public universities and the private universities continue to widen. Private universities are not only successful institutions of higher learning, but the core of industries.

　　这些私立大学都是常说的“研宄型大学”，它们不但提供优质的教育，而且做一 流的研宄。尽管公立大学拥有政府的资助，私立大学和公立大学之间的差距却是越来 越大。私立大学不仅仅是成功的高等学府，还是产业的核心。

　　Why are private universities in the United States more successful than public universities What make the private universities the core of the U.S. education There are many reasons for this, among which a very important one is that private universities receive substantial donations from many philanthropists and alumni. Harvard University is such a private university.

　　为什么美国的私立大学比公立大学更成功？是什么让私立大学成为美国教育的核 心？原因有很多，其中一个重要原因是私立大学从很多慈善家和毕业生那里得到了大 量捐助。哈佛大学就是这样一所私立大学。

　　Initially, when it was first voted into theoretical existence by the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the new institution was named “New College”，without a single building, teacher, or student. In 1638, a young minister called John Harvard, upon his death, bequeathed to the college his entire library of about 400 book, and half of his estate of about ￡779. The minister was an alumnus of the University of Cambridge and had just settled in Charlestown less than one year before. His donation was like timely rain and assured the continued operation of the college. Then in 1639，the college was renamed in honor of the deceased John Harvard.

　　最初，当马萨诸塞湾殖民地总法院投票使其在理论上成立时，这个新机构被称为 “新学院”，没有任何建筑、教师、学生。1638年，一位名叫约翰哈佛的年轻牧师在 临终前把藏书约为400本书的图书馆和价值大约779英镑的一半遗产都捐赠给了这个 新的学院。该牧师是英国剑桥大学的毕业生，在査尔斯镇定居下来还不到一年。他的 捐助就像一场及时雨保证了学院的持续运转。然后1639年学院为纪念过世的约翰哈 佛而重新命名。

　　It was not until 1780 that Harvard College was upgraded to the university status. The earliest known official reference to Harvard as a ‘university” occurs in the new Massachusetts Constitution of 1780. Nevertheless, strictly speaking, Harvard University could not be called a “university”. At that time, according to the tradition of the European Medieval universities, only an institution with at least three colleges or schools could be called a university. Harvard, however, didn’t have any subcolleges. In the following decades, Harvard speeded up its construction. In 1816, Divinity School was founded, and in 1817 Law School was founded. These two schools, together with Harvard College, made Harvard become a genuine “university”. Harvard University in the true sense was finally born.

　　直到1780年哈佛学院才升格为大学。已知的最早的官方称哈佛为“大学”的资料 是1780年的新马萨诸塞州宪法。尽管如此，严 格说来，哈佛大学还不能被称为“大学”。那时，按照欧洲中世纪大学的传统，只有当一个机构拥 有3个以上学院时才能叫大学。但哈佛没有下属 学院。在接下来的几十年里，哈佛加快自身建 设，1816年成立了神学院，1817年成立了法学院。这两个学院，加上哈佛学院，让哈佛成了名副其 实的大学。真正意义上的哈佛大学终于诞生了。