Report Draws Weak Support

While praising the report of a committee which has proposed the wholesale restructuring of Harvard College, President Neil L. Rudenstine said Wednesday that some recommendations in a preliminary copy of the document could be more carefully examined.

"Given the size and scope of the task, it's very impressive, very thorough, very carefully wrought and considered," Rudenstine said. "It will certainly stand as a very important document which will need thoughtful consideration for quite a bit. It's something that ought to be chewed over for a while."

The 78-page report was produced by a committee of faculty and administrators appointed last summer by Jeremy R. Knowles. Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS). The report copy, which was released this week, has been presented to Knowles for his consideration.

Rudenstine, speaking from his own experience as a house tutor more than two decades ago, discussed the recommendations which would affect the appointments, evaluations and responsibilities of the masters, senior tutors and resident tutors in the College's 12 houses.

In particular, the president took issue with the report's proposal to hire senior tutors who are "more experienced academics" than those currently being hired.

House senior tutors are now often junior faculty members who assume part-time house administrative duties in addition to their original faculty responsibilities.

Some tutors have suggested that few of Harvard's more senior faculty would be able to produce world-class scholarship while they administer an undergraduate house.

"When I was a tutor in Adams House, it was clear that a lot of the tutors were essentially junior faculty," Rudenstine said. "I actually went through the evolution myself."

"It may well be correct that to reverse that would be very, very hard," the president added. "I'm not at all sure it's feasible."

The report also proposes hiring either faculty members from other universities or writers and academics from the Cambridge area.

"I simply don't know if there's a pool of those people [who would want the positions]," Rudenstine said. "The people doing the job now are awfully good."

Several tutors seemed to share Rudenstine's cautious view of the report's proposals.

Suzi Naiburg, Dunster House's new senior tutor, said she would not like to see a set pattern for hiring senior tutors.

"You look for different personalities," she said. "You're looking for a wide range of experiences--life, educational and administrative."

But Naiburg applauded the suggestion of evaluating the house administrators.

"I strongly believe in ongoing evaluation," she said. "It is part of professional development."

J. Woodland Hastings, co-master of North House and a committee member, this week said the report's suggestions, if enacted, would not make it harder for tutors and masters to run their houses.

"It might affect the traditional autonomy--some individuals might be concerned about that--but it will not be destructive," Hastings said.

Rudenstine also said he didn't think that randomization in housing assignments--another of the report's suggestions--would guarantee house diversity.

"Once you have hired co-masters and a group of tutors, you have inevitably given a certain tonality and shape to the house. There will be character and quality of a differentiating sort," he said. "Even architecture plays more of a role than those people realize.

House senior tutors are now often junior faculty members who assume part-time house administrative duties in addition to their original faculty responsibilities.

Some tutors have suggested that few of Harvard's more senior faculty would be able to produce world-class scholarship while they administer an undergraduate house.

"When I was a tutor in Adams House, it was clear that a lot of the tutors were essentially junior faculty," Rudenstine said. "I actually went through the evolution myself."

"It may well be correct that to reverse that would be very, very hard," the president added. "I'm not at all sure it's feasible."

The report also proposes hiring either faculty members from other universities or writers and academics from the Cambridge area.

"I simply don't know if there's a pool of those people [who would want the positions]," Rudenstine said. "The people doing the job now are awfully good."

Several tutors seemed to share Rudenstine's cautious view of the report's proposals.

Suzi Naiburg, Dunster House's new senior tutor, said she would not like to see a set pattern for hiring senior tutors.

"You look for different personalities," she said. "You're looking for a wide range of experiences--life, educational and administrative."

But Naiburg applauded the suggestion of evaluating the house administrators.

"I strongly believe in ongoing evaluation," she said. "It is part of professional development."

J. Woodland Hastings, co-master of North House and a committee member, this week said the report's suggestions, if enacted, would not make it harder for tutors and masters to run their houses.

"It might affect the traditional autonomy--some individuals might be concerned about that--but it will not be destructive," Hastings said.

Rudenstine also said he didn't think that randomization in housing assignments--another of the report's suggestions--would guarantee house diversity.

"Once you have hired co-masters and a group of tutors, you have inevitably given a certain tonality and shape to the house. There will be character and quality of a differentiating sort," he said. "Even architecture plays more of a role than those people realize.