New Social Programming Board Nabs $200K

The College approved a proposal for a new undergraduate social programming board and will fund the body with $200,000 for the next academic year, College administrators announced yesterday.

But administrators did not specify where the funding would come from or how it will fund the new social programming board after the 2006-2007 school year.

“I have determined to find the money to fund this in the College budget next year, without an increase to the term bill fee,” wrote Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71 in an e-mail last night.

Campus Life Fellow Justin H. Haan ’05 said the money would “come out of the operating expenses of the College.”

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences, of which the College is a part, is facing a projected budget deficit. In October, The Crimson reported that the budget deficit of FAS was projected to top $40 million this fiscal year and could increase.

During the next academic year, the College will look at different funding options after the 2006-2007 academic year.

Last week, Assistant Dean of the College Paul J. McLoughlin II suggested that money for the programming board could come from a term-bill hike or private donors.

Haan, who is also a former Crimson deputy photo chair, said yesterday that the College would look at different models for funding the programming board after the next academic year.

“Dean Gross is basically putting in the seed money for this initial year with the intention of looking to see if there would be a possibility of funding the programming board through an increase in the term-bill fee,” Haan said.

Haan added that the budget for the programming board was “a real gain for campus programming.”

“The nature of the type of events we are doing have a real tendency to require substantial financial support,” he said.

The $200,000 funding for the new programming board could potentially free up the over $50,000 the Undergraduate Council (UC) typically spends on organizing campus-wide events.

UC President John S. Haddock ’07 said yesterday that the council will distribute the additional money to House Committees and student groups.

The programming board—which was proposed and adopted by the UC Sunday night by a 37-1 vote—will cede responsibility for campus-wide social events to a single body that will exist independently from the UC.

UC Vice President Annie R. Riley ’07, who spearheaded the creation of the social board, said she was “very thrilled” with the $200,000 budget.

“This final number is really nice and a very generous way to kick off programming,” Riley said. “The large sum speaks to the really large potential for the programming board in the first year. The students on it will have so much creative leeway.”

While Gross had in recent days signalled his willingness to support the board, he had indicated that he would take his time considering the proposal

On Monday, Gross wrote in an e-mail that he would meet with the UC “in the next few weeks” to discuss the proposal.

But Gross wrote last night that he had “decided to move quickly to give students time to elect a board this spring.”

Now that the College has approved the creation of the programming board, council leaders will begin the process of appointing members to the new board.

“The next step is to have the elections and selections of the programming board this semester so that they can begin working on the fall event,” Riley said.

According to Riley, elections for the 12 representative positions will begin May 2. Once elected positions are filled, the board will select students to fill the remaining six seats.

Gross wrote last night that since the board will be formed in May, it can “begin programming for the fall term over the summer.”

—Alexander D. Blankfein can be reached at ablankf@fas.harvard.edu.