College's #2 Administrator To Take A Leave of Absence

After two years as the College’s second in command, Deputy Dean of the College Patricia O’Brien will be taking a personal leave of absence beginning next month, Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71 announced yesterday.

“I write with the news that Pat O’Brien will be taking a personal leave of absence from the College, effective August 1, 2006,” Gross wrote in the e-mail, which was sent to both House masters and College administrative staff.

O’Brien will continue to serve as Co-Master of Currier House along with her husband, Joseph L. Badaracco, Jr., a professor of business ethics at Harvard Business School.

The letter, first posted on the web journal of Harvard commentator Richard Bradley, did not state how long the leave will last or whether O’Brien will resume her post as deputy dean when she returns.

In the e-mail, Gross also did not announce a successor.

"I am grateful for her dedicated service to our students and faculty. The College will miss her," Gross wrote.

The Harvard University Personnel Manual states that employees may take unpaid leaves of absence that span 30 consecutive calendar days or more. Personal leaves of absence may either be short term—lasting from 31 to 90 days—or long term.

The manual also states that employees who have served fewer than five years may not take leaves that exceed one year.

O’Brien has only worked for the College for three years, but it is unclear whether the stipulation will apply to her. She also held a post at the Business School from 1985 to 1996.

Gross and O’Brien did not respond to requests for comment last night.

Masters and co-masters from four houses—Lowell House Co-Master Dorothy A. Austin, Kirkland House Co-Master Tom Conley, Quincy House Master Robert P. Kirshner, and Eliot House Co-Master Lino Pertile—confirmed Thursday night that they had received Gross’ e-mail announcing that O’Brien would be taking a leave of absence and “thanking her for her service at the university.”

Project Manager for Loker Commons Planning and Program Development Zachary A. Corker ’04 confirmed that the e-mail was also sent to members of the College administrative staff.

Pertile called the announcement “absolutely sudden.” Pertile said that he had not heard anything about O’Brien leaving in the past, adding that someone else is bound to take over.

Other administrators and faculty of the College have entertained rumors about O’Brien’s departure for over two weeks.

“I think there is likely to be a certain amount of turnover as administrations change, so this would not be surprising,” Classics Department Chair Richard F. Thomas wrote in an e-mail on July 1 in response to initial rumors that O’Brien would be leaving.

Corker said that O’Brien “served as a very strong advocate for the student experience” and that she was able to relate well to undergraduates due in large part to her experience as a house master in Currier House.

Gross’ e-mail also stated that O’Brien had been a key player in establishing the new Office for Advising Programs, launching on-line registration and enrollment systems, and securing funding for the new summer programs in science and engineering.

—Paras D. Bhayani contributed to the reporting of this article.

—Staff writer Ying Wang can be reached at yingwang@fas.harvard.edu.