Kidd Upbeat About Beginning Job

Judith H. Kidd, whose selection last November as assistant dean for public service was followed by a storm of controversy and a vitriolic protest, began her new position quietly and cordially Tuesday.

Kidd said yesterday that she spent her first few days "meeting with as many people as have met with me."

The dean said she hasn't had a chance to meet with many students yet, because many Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA) officers remain on break.

Thus far, the dean has met formally with incoming PBHA president Andrew J. Ehrlich '96-'97 and incoming fundraising director John C. Raezer '97. Ehrlich and Kidd both described their meetings as friendly.

"I think that she's caught in a very difficult situation right now, and everyone needs to be sensitive to that," Ehrlich said of the new dean. "And while I don't envy her position, she's certainly going about things the right way in terms of being open-minded and receptive."

Easing into a chair in her corner office in the Monro Room at Phillips Brooks House (PBH), Kidd said she will spend her first month on the job familiarizing herself with the programs run by PBH and the Office of Public Service, both of which she is charged with overseeing.

Kidd also said she will familiarize herself with administrative duties such as formulating budgets.

As dean, Kidd is also executive director of PBH, in charge of managing PBH's staff and the resources it receives from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

In the past, the executive director of PBH was also the director of Phillips Brooks House Association, Inc., a private corporation. But the PBH cabinet voted unanimously last month to separate the two positions, reducing the dean's authority over the organization.

Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 chose Kidd as the new dean last November. The position was created as a result of a report in restructuring the College which Lewis co-authored.

Members of PBHA have said that the administration did not adequately consider student input in choosing Kidd over long time PBH Executive Director Greg A. Johnson '72 Kidd. in fact, was the last choice of many students (including Ehrlich) who interviewed the four finalists for the new post. A rally on December 7 drew about 700 students and a multitude of community leaders in support of PBHA's stance against the administration.

Despite this protest, Ehrlich said yesterday that he is optimistic about Kidd.

"I think she's not making any rash judgments. She's willing to listen and learn because she really has a lot to learn well. So on a personal level I feel things are going well," Ehrlich said.

The PBHA president elect said he will not take out his disappointment at the College on Kidd.

"Now that she's here it's not a question of who she is but how she got here, why she got here and what that means for the future of PBHA," he said.

He said he hopes Kidd will help the PBHA. In Planing Committee, which is helping the organization begin fundraising in other to hire its own staff.

"Including the communities and the alumni and the donors and the students [in essential decision] does not mean excluding the University.

In the past, the executive director of PBH was also the director of Phillips Brooks House Association, Inc., a private corporation. But the PBH cabinet voted unanimously last month to separate the two positions, reducing the dean's authority over the organization.

Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 chose Kidd as the new dean last November. The position was created as a result of a report in restructuring the College which Lewis co-authored.

Members of PBHA have said that the administration did not adequately consider student input in choosing Kidd over long time PBH Executive Director Greg A. Johnson '72 Kidd. in fact, was the last choice of many students (including Ehrlich) who interviewed the four finalists for the new post. A rally on December 7 drew about 700 students and a multitude of community leaders in support of PBHA's stance against the administration.

Despite this protest, Ehrlich said yesterday that he is optimistic about Kidd.

"I think she's not making any rash judgments. She's willing to listen and learn because she really has a lot to learn well. So on a personal level I feel things are going well," Ehrlich said.

The PBHA president elect said he will not take out his disappointment at the College on Kidd.

"Now that she's here it's not a question of who she is but how she got here, why she got here and what that means for the future of PBHA," he said.

He said he hopes Kidd will help the PBHA. In Planing Committee, which is helping the organization begin fundraising in other to hire its own staff.

"Including the communities and the alumni and the donors and the students [in essential decision] does not mean excluding the University.