Associate Dean To Leave Post

Associate Dean of Freshmen Rory A. W. Browne plans to leave his post and take a job at Boston College (BC) in June, after 15 years at Harvard, he announced in a letter to his colleagues yesterday.

In his move to BC, Browne is escaping a demotion within the College administration that would have placed him under the new associate dean for advising, administrators and professors said.

Browne, who did not respond to several requests for comment, will help lead the new advising center at BC under his old boss, former Dean of Freshmen Elizabeth Studley Nathans. Nathans was forced from her post last year as part of an overhaul of the College administration’s structure, which began in 2003.

In an interview yesterday, Nathans said that there had been “a great deal of interest” in bringing Browne to BC.

“I became aware about a month ago that, if we offered him a position, there was a very good chance that we would be able to have him come here,” Nathans said. “I extended an offer to him last week, and he accepted it...within a few hours of my offer.”

Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71 wrote in an e-mail yesterday that Browne had expressed interest in moving to BC before this year.

“He had applied for a position at BC last year, and something recently opened up,” Gross wrote. “It’s a great opportunity for him, and I’ll miss his wise counsel here.”

According to Classics Chair and Faculty Council member Richard F. Thomas, Browne’s position as associate dean of freshmen was “basically eliminated” because of the College’s restructuring.

Browne would have become assistant dean of advising had he chosen to remain at Harvard.

Gross wrote yesterday that some of Browne’s duties would be taken on by staff at the Freshman Dean’s Office (FDO), and his advising duties would be subsumed by the new office for advising. Browne currently oversees academic advising for freshmen as well as the Advanced Standing program.

Several professors expressed concerns that Browne’s decision to leave had been partly a result of pressure from the administration.

“If you create a position where the person can either be demoted or choose to leave, is that being forced out?” Thomas asked. “My view is that it’s either sinister or incompetent if you have a restructuring that gets rid of one of the best people at Harvard.”

The Office of Advising was created in response to concerns about the quality of advising at the College, with widespread support from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

The restructuring efforts to improve advising encountered criticism from students and professors in February when longstanding administrator Deborah Foster was told that her post would be subsumed by the new advising office. Gross later stated that Foster would retain her academic duties.

Chair of the Folklore and Mythology department Stephen A. Mitchell—a vocal supporter of Foster, who is a lecturer in the department—wrote in an e-mail that he was upset by Browne’s departure and that the situation reminded him of Foster’s.

“Yet again, someone with sparkling credentials, including a deep history in college advising, and much praise from students and colleagues is let go or offered a demotion, just as Harvard attempts to improve advising,” Mitchell wrote.

Several professors and administrators told The Crimson yesterday morning and afternoon that they were aware of Browne’s decision to leave. Browne sent an e-mail yesterday around 5 p.m. to proctors and advisers announcing his departure.

“Although I am naturally looking forward to joining the academic community at Boston College,” he wrote, “I am leaving here with regret in large measure because I have felt privileged to work with all of you and with our many fine students.”

Browne, who was a residential dean at Yale before coming to Harvard, also serves as a lecturer in the History and Literature program and is currently teaching a freshman seminar on the history of zoos. He had previously served as the Allston Burr senior tutor in Quincy House and the associate secretary to the University in the Office of Governing Boards.

One of Browne’s advisees, Morgan A. Kruger ’07, who was not aware that he was leaving Harvard, said Browne would be missed.

“He’s really gone above and beyond,” Kruger said. “He’s really a fantastic teacher, and it’s sad he’s leaving.”

Browne’s boss, Dean of Freshmen Thomas A. Dingman ’67, said he is happy for Browne but sad to lose him.

“While he’s been a good protector of standards, he’s thought creatively

about doing things in a new and effective fashion,” Dingman said yesterday.

—Staff writer Liz C. Goodwin can be reached at goodwin@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Daniel J. T. Schuker can be reached at dschuker@fas.harvard.edu.