Dean of Students Office to Play Larger Role in Approving New Student Organizations

Harvard Assistant Dean of Student Engagement and Leadership Andy Donahue said in a Monday interview that Dean of Students Office administrators will play a larger role in the updated recognition process for new student organizations.

During a year-long internal club audit in the 2023-24 academic year, the DSO recruited an advisory committee of around a dozen undergraduates to include “the student voice” on club recognition — but Donahue said the group fell apart due to absences and “no interest in student participation.”

Donahue said there will be “more staff involvement” in the new recognition procedure, adding that DSO staff members are better positioned to evaluate applications and support prospective clubs than current undergraduates.

“From our experiences — folks who do this every day, have chosen this for our career path — we have a great deal more knowledge of best practice, ways that the institution can support student organizations, than students who are in positions for one year,” Donahue said.

Before the DSO announced the redesigned system on Monday, students looking to start new clubs were required to complete interviews with members of the Harvard Undergraduate Association’s extracurriculars team.

The HUA came under fire this spring after former Co-President John S. Cooke ’25 was expelled from the Fox Club and subsequently ousted in a recall election. One disbanded ticket to succeed Cooke and co-president Shikoh Misu Hirabayashi ’24-’25 ran on a platform of “no more scandals,” proposing to dissolve the HUA.

Though HUA officers will play a smaller role in evaluating club applications, Donahue praised the new HUA leadership and extracurriculars team in Monday’s interview.

“We have really positive partners in the HUA,” Donahue said, adding that HUA Extracurriculars Team Officer Joel O. Crawford ’26 was “a very vocal proponent” of “making sure students have a voice” in planning the club recognition process.

Donahue added that students on the Committee of Student Life — an advisory group of faculty, staff, and students chaired by Dean of Students Thomas Dunne — will have a say in final approval for recognition.

The updated process involves application review from the HUA’s extracurricular team and DSO administrators, as well as a three-part training course for all leaders of successful club applicants. In the event of disagreement about a club’s eligibility for recognition, Donahue will serve as the “tie-breaking vote,” according to the DSO’s Monday announcement.

In a change from the previous process, student organizations will not be able to apply for official recognition in the spring.

The year-long audit also included an evaluation of club recognition procedures at other “Ivy+” institutions, a group including Ivy League colleges and schools like Stanford and MIT. Donahue said the College’s new structure is a “middle ground” compared to the “Ivy+” schools.

The semester-long process also shortens the path to official recognition, which previously required two semesters of “provisional status” in addition to one semester of application review.

“The hope is that our process has enough rigor where students are prepared to lead their organizations, full stop, in the spring term,” Donahue said.

—Staff writer Madeleine A. Hung can be reached at madeleine.hung@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Azusa M. Lippit can be reached at azusa.lippit@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @azusalippit or on Threads @azusalippit.