Tech Guru Heads to Duke

After five years of virus-battling, network-saving, and system-upgrading, the beloved Director of Residential Computing Kevin S. Davis ’98 will leave Harvard this summer to pursue a similar career at Duke University.

Davis, who is also a Crimson editor, has overseen all aspects of residential computer services, including emergency assistance.

He also has served as the head supervisor of the User Assistant (UA) program, a 70-member student-staffed computer help service for University affiliates.

His position at Duke has not yet been defined, but Davis says that it will be similar to what he has done here. No one has yet been appointed to take Davis’ place at Harvard next year.

“[Davis] did so much for us that we are probably going to need to hire more than one person to replace him in the future,” said Director of Computer Services Franklin M. Steen.

Some projects that Davis has overseen in recent years include the development of a wireless network in dormitories on campus, the creation of the online Harvard College facebook, and the organization of the “fall-term start-up,” which assists incoming students and trains new UAs.

“Kevin has served as both our supervisor and informational point person,” said current UA Neeraj “Richie” Banerji ’06. “He represents the combined knowledge that we have available to us, as both his institutional memory and technological knowledge make him a great resource.”

Davis described his primary role as an “emergency contact point.” Davis is on call 24 hours a day and is responsible for identifying the causes of computer emergencies and getting them fixed. He also handles problems with dormitories, internet connections, and computer security.

Davis has had a lifelong interest in computers but did not get actively involved with them until he served as a User Assistant (UA) while an undergraduate at Harvard.

“When I came to Harvard I was all set to work at the library shelving books, but then I got a call about being a UA,” said Davis. “Working as one of our UAs has become a career in university technology for me.”

After earning his degree­—he was a goverment concentrator—Davis worked as a private IT consultant and then returned to Harvard in 2000 to assume his current position as technological factotum.

In addition to working full time, Davis also recently earned his MBA from Boston University.

“Harvard pays most of the graduate tuition for certain employees to do programs like the one I did, which has really made the University a terrific employer,” said Davis.

Davis is leaving his position to live closer to his wife, Darleen Davis ’98, who is a law student at Duke University. “There is a great opportunity for me at Duke, but I will certainly miss Harvard and working with the UAs,” he said.

Davis said that his experiences with the UAs have been the highlight of his career.

“Working with the UAs has really been rewarding for me,” Davis said. “They are a group with a very strong dynamic and a real love for their job.”

He recalled a recent UA staff party when student supervisors sang songs they wrote in honor of the UA staff.

“A Harvard staff member walked into the room by accident, looked bewildered and then walked right out,” said Davis. “I think this incident represents the kind of crazy group the UAs are. They are a remarkable group of students that doesn’t want to quit until the job is finished, and I have found this energy really enjoyable.”

The UAs who work under Davis have equally appreciated his friendship and advice.

“Kevin would often take time to just sit down and talk with me about my courses, he was just as much of an adviser to me as anyone else at the University,” said Robert D. Winikates ’08. “He had a really great touch with us as students because he himself went to Harvard. I don’t think his equal will be found again anytime soon.”

—Staff writer Carolyn A. Sheehan can be reached at csheehan@fas.harvard.edu.