Harvard University is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States (founded 1636) and one of the eight Ivy League schools, widely regarded for their high academic standards, selectivity in admissions, and social prestige.
The Ernst Mayr Grants support travel for research specifically in the domain of animal systematics, with a strong emphasis on encouraging studies related to taxonomic work on neglected taxa. This includes a focus on taxa that are poorly described, have many undescribed species in institutional collections, genera and families with unknown proportions of nominal species being synonyms, and difficult genera lacking keys. The grants primarily aim to facilitate the study and correct identification of type specimens by enabling researchers to visit other museums.