PBHA Search Process Is Fair

To the editors:

The Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA) Executive Director search process has been fair, thoughtful, and thorough. A Crimson article (News, March 16) suggested that some people don't agree with this view. I was one of those so characterized, so I'd like to clarify the record.

As a staff member of Phillips Brooks House I have had some opportunity to observe PBHA's process of reviewing candidate for Executive Director. One aspect of this process is the timeline. The article says I attributed the delay "not to careful deliberation but the difficulties of working around an academic calendar." The role of the academic calendar is important, but not for the reason the article suggested.

Instead, as I commented, the presence of winter break and exams needs to be appreciated by those who might otherwise mistakenly attribute a "delay" (if that is the word) to intra-committee conflicts. A long timeline is not inconsistent with careful deliberation, and though the article neglected to say so, I myself pointed this out to the reporter.

In fact, careful deliberation has played a central role in the search committee's efforts. As I told the reporter, the timeline allowed PBHA to carefully define what it sought in an Executive Director, including that position's role in such areas as a PBHA development project and reporting relationships within PBHA and with Phillips Brooks House staff.

Even though some candidates have taken other positions in the interim, the finalists are strong and the committee is very satisfied with its options. The "best" candidates may well be in our list of finalists, and contrary to what The Crimson printed I have never said nor believed otherwise.

Great candidates are crucial because the Executive Director position is critical to PBHA. Although the article quotes me as saying "it doesn't have a really big impact right now," my point, when taken in full context, was that an Executive Director must be mindful of the healthy sense of autonomy PBHA student leaders enjoy exercising.

Clearly the Executive Director position is critical; if it weren't, would PBHA and Phillips Brooks House staff have worked so conscientiously to identify attractive candidate? Notably, the Executive Director will not be alone in setting the scope of PBHA; rightfully, students and the PBHA Board of Trustees will also play key roles. The Executive Director's distinction will be in serving as a trusted guide and leader and in bringing in vast experience from previous community leadership.

Many students and staff, myself included, respect one another and see each other as friends and committed helpers to neighborhoods throughout Cambridge and Boston. We will happily welcome the forthcoming Executive Director, and we will accord this individual much respect for successfully completing a careful, thoughtful and thorough screening process. BRYAN A.RICHARDS '97   March 16, 1998

The writer is Harvard University's Coordinator of Public Service Programs.