7. First Locations for House Renewal Picked: Quincy and Leverett

Early in the year, Dean of the College Evelynn M. Hammonds and Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Michael D. Smith announced the beginning of Harvard’s long-planned major renovation of its 12 residential Houses. Old Quincy will serve as the first test project for construction on all undergraduate Houses, and House Renewal will rank high among the University’s priorities for its quietly budding capital campaign. Drawing inspiration in part from recent renovations at Yale, the construction will update outdated heating, ventilation, and air conditioning and increase wheelchair accessibility.

While Old Quincy undergoes its 15-month face-lift, which will start soon after Commencement in 2012, students will be relocated to one of several swing spaces. After that, administrators recently announced, Old Leverett will be next to see renovations.

6. Convicted Murderer Sentenced to Life in Prison for Shooting in Kirkland House

The legal saga that arose from the fatal drug-related shooting that rocked campus in 2009 played out in court this year. After a three-week trial in which the defendant’s attorney argued that another man fired the bullet that killed 21-year-old Justin Cosby in the basement of Kirkland House, Jabrai Jordan Copney, 22, was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Two other men, originally charged with first-degree murder along with Copney, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter and avoided trials. Jason F. Aquino was sentenced to 18 to 20 years in prison, and Blayn Jiggetts, who cooperated as a witness against Copney, received a sentence of 9 to 12 years.

Brittany J. Smith, the only Harvard student charged with a crime in connection to the murder, pleaded guilty after her boyfriend Copney’s conviction and received a three-year prison sentence. Smith’s friend Chanequa N. Campbell, the other student dismissed from Harvard just before her graduation for her involvement in the shooting, served as a witness in Copney’s trial and was not prosecuted.

5. Reverend Peter J. Gomes Dies

Reverend Peter J. Gomes died in February after serving 35 years as Harvard’s Pusey Minister and Plummer Professor of Christian Morals. Gomes was known at Harvard and nationwide for his oratorical gifts, best-selling books, advocacy for equality, and many endearing quirks. Speaking out when he saw injustice and standing up for students in tough circumstances, Gomes was seen as a moral compass at Harvard.

University President Drew G. Faust invoked Gomes’ memory at the 2011 Baccalaureate Service, a ceremony that Gomes had presided over for decades. “As a man of multiple labels, Peter Gomes was a little ahead of his time,” Faust said at the service. “The black, gay, and once Republican preacher did not fit any categorization.”

After Gomes’ death, the University named Wendel W. “Tad” Meyer as the acting Pusey Minister and launched a search committee to find a permanent minister. The search is ongoing.