North, Kirkland House Senior Tutors Appointed

A specialist in reproductive physiology and a Middle Eastern ethnicity scholar have been appointed as senior tutors at Kirkland House and North House, respectively.

Peter T. Ellison, assistant professor of anthropology, said that being a senior tutor "is the kind of life that I've been eyeing for a while." Ellison, who will become Kirkland's senior tutor in the fall, received his doctorate in biological anthropology from Harvard in 1982.

Robert L. Franklin, lecturer on Social Studies, said that his tenure as North House senior tutor "will be a learning experience--especially with the [renovations and constructions." Franklin, who last November received his Harvard doctorate in anthropology and Middle Eastern studies, will take on his new position next term.

The Houses' senior tutors act as academic advisers and work with the masters to improve house social life. When an opening appears, a master recommends his senior tutor choice to the Dean of the College and to several committees. The dean and the committees decide whether the master's choice is appropriate.

Last year Ellison lived in Zaire studying pygmies to observe the effects of nutrition, exercise, and disease on fertility.

"I can't imagine a life of pure research--that gets pretty stale quickly," Ellison said, adding that he is "very excited about the kind of university life" he will experience next year.

Ellison is replacing Lecturer on English John L. Klause, who is accepting a position as Associate Professor at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY.

This semester Franklin taught a Social Studies junior tutorial on cultural, religious, and ethnic differences in Middle Eastern societies throughout history.

"I hadn't had that much contact with undergraduates before the tutorial. It was a new experience," Franklin said. "[In tutorial] you get to see students as people, and I liked that a lot," said Franklin.

Franklin is succeeding Margot N. Gill, who is leaving her position as North House Senior Tutor to work as associate dean for student affairs at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Ellison, originally from Winchester, received a B.S. from the University of Vermont in Zoology and an M.S. in Wildlife Biology from the University of Massachusetts. After a year of research at Harvard Medical School, he joined the Harvard faculty as assistant professor in 1983.

St. Louis native Franklin attended the University of Missouri as an undergraduate and received an M.A. from Washington University in St. Louis in 1976.