Stephen Kosslyn

Stephen M. Kosslyn is an American psychologist and neuroscientist whose work focuses on cognitive neuroscience and the learning sciences. He is a former chair of the psychology department and dean of social science at Harvard University, where he is a professor emeritus; he later served as founding dean and chief academic officer of the Minerva Schools (now Minerva University) and founded Foundry College.

Kosslyn is listed among the people named in the Epstein files. According to reporting on the released files, Epstein gave Kosslyn’s psychology department $200,000 in donations between 1998 and 2002; Kosslyn visited Epstein in jail in 2008; released emails show Kosslyn helping Epstein draft scripts for reporters in an effort to restore Epstein’s public image; and in 2010 Kosslyn provided a referral when Epstein asked for the name of a New York child psychologist. The Stanford Daily reported on February 5, 2026 that, per court documents and the Palm Beach County Jail visitor log, Kosslyn visited Epstein on September 20–21, 2008, while serving as dean of social science and while Epstein was incarcerated following his guilty plea. Times Higher Education similarly reported that, citing correspondence in U.S. Department of Justice files, Kosslyn — described as a Harvard professor emeritus — visited Epstein in jail in 2008 and met with him frequently.

According to The Stanford Daily, Kosslyn did not himself make a public statement, but his legal counsel, Christopher Serbagi, submitted documents contesting the allegations against him. The Stanford Daily reported that those documents referenced a court filing attributing the mention of Kosslyn’s name to a “scrivener’s error” and included an email from an attorney for Virginia Giuffre stating, “My client Virginia Giuffre did not have sex with Stephen Kosslyn.” Times Higher Education reported that Kosslyn did not respond to or comment on the disclosures.

Is Stephen Kosslyn in the Epstein files?

Yes. Stephen Kosslyn, the psychologist and former Harvard dean of social science, is named in the Epstein files. As described above and in the fetched sources, the documented context includes donations Epstein made to his Harvard psychology department, a September 2008 visit to Epstein in jail, released emails, and a 2010 referral request; his legal counsel has contested allegations against him. Being named in the files is not evidence of any crime or wrongdoing — people appear in these documents in many contexts, including correspondence, donations, scheduling, and passing references. See the sources above for the specific, documented context.

Documents

Primary-source records that name or reference Stephen Kosslyn. Inclusion in these documents is not, by itself, evidence of wrongdoing; Kosslyn’s counsel has contested allegations against him, and an attorney for Virginia Giuffre stated she “did not have sex with Stephen Kosslyn.”

• Giuffre v. Maxwell — unsealed court records (Jan. 2024) — Kosslyn is named once in a January 2024 filing in this civil case (U.S. District Court, S.D.N.Y., No. 1:15-cv-07433), in a list of Harvard academics the filer described as “friendly with” Epstein through his funding of academic research. The mention is a passing reference; no allegation against Kosslyn attaches to it.
• DOJ Epstein Files (full EFTA release portal) — Per The Stanford Daily and Times Higher Education (Feb. 2026), the DOJ files include correspondence involving Kosslyn and, with a Palm Beach County Jail visitor log, record his September 2008 visit to Epstein in jail.