Excerpts From Draft Of Committee Report

The following are excerpts from a preliminary copy of the report of the Continitise Structure of Harvard College.

The Dean of the College

It has seemed to us that as presently structured the job of the Dean of Harvard College is very burdensome, having a huge scope, a great number of day to day responsibilities (only some of which can easily be delegated), and a large number, of directly reporting individuals and offices.

It has been an overarching concern as we contemplated alternative structures to decrease, rather than increase, the direct responsibilities of the Dean of the College. The agenda of the Dean of the Faculty is, of course, no less full, so relief for the Dean of Harvard College is not easily achieved by displacing responsibilities upwards.

We have naturally been led to consider the portfolio of the Dean for Undergraduate Education, who in the current structure has fewer executive responsibilities (and has a smaller staff...) than the Dean of the College or the Dean of the Faculty.

Three Possible Overall Structures for the Deanship

The "Two-Dean Structure":

This structure is a modest variation on the basic model under which the College now operates. There would continue to be an experienced educational administrator serving as Dean of Harvard College, and a senior faculty member serving as Dean for Undergraduate Education.

The "Single-Faculty-Dean" Structure:

Arguably the "Two-Dean" structure results in an artificial separation of academic and non-academic concerns. An alternative proposal would redefine the position of the Dean of Harvard College as a faculty position with responsibilities to include (1) the current responsibilities of the Dean of Harvard College; (2) the current responsibilities of the Dean for Undergraduate Education; and (3) certain of the current responsibilities of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences that are related to undergraduate activities....

A principal concern about the position of faculty Dean is whether a job with such broad responsibilities can be carried out at all. Is it wise to enlarge a job that some believe to be, at present, too small in scope and too limited in authority for a professor, by combining it with one that may already be too large administratively?

The "Divisional" Structure:

The "Divisional" model would constitute a more extensive restructuring of the administration of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. It is proposed that the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science appoint three or four "Area Academic Deans," to serve part-time for about five years and have as their responsibilities the thorough understanding of academic concerns in broad academic disciplinary areas..

Public Service Programs

Our key proposals are the consolidation of the Phillips Brooks House with the Office of Public Service Programs, the appointment of a single individual as Assistant Dean for Public Service and Director of the Phillips Brooks House and the creation of a standing committee of the Faculty to set priorities where resources are constrained of external circumstances limit our students freedom of action.

The Houses

The current system of assignment of students to Houses should be replaced by one based on random assignment of roommate groups at the end of the freshman year, with controls on gender ratios enforced as of present.

A job description for Masters should be developed, which can serve as the basis for their appointment and review.

Patterns of appointment and responsibilities for Allston Burr Senior Tutors should be the subject of creative thought, with the general objective of bringing more experienced academics into these positions.

The Administrative Board

One disturbing trend in recent years has been the small number of regular teaching faculty serving as members of the Administrative Board.

The advantages and disadvantages of continuing the Student Faculty Judicial Board should be reviewed, and alternatives processes should be considered for handling the business it might receive at some future date.