Leighton to Retire After 40 Years as Dean and Master

The man who University officials say "knows more about the way Harvard is run than anyone else" will retire this June after almost 40 years of top-level administration.

Delmar Leighton '19, Master of Dudley House, former instructor in Economics, former Dean of freshmen, former Dean of Students, and former Dean of Harvard College, is the University's longest-term administrative officer.

Although most students in the College know him as the Master of Dudley, he is recognized more for the innovations which he established in his 29 years of Deansmanship. As the College's first Dean of Freshmen from 1931 to 1952, he established the Freshman Union and solidated the Freshman Board of Advisors.

In the 1930's, he fought the trend which was developing in several other universities for the establishment of a professional staff of advisors. Leighton insisted on using only Faculty and Administration members, an unpopular concept at that time, but one which still forms the basis of the Board of Advisors both here and in most other colleges.

As Dean of the College in the 1950's he implemented the present system of Allston Burr Senior Tutors and the accompanying decentralization of the Deans' offices. He fought hard for Dean Wilbur Bender's National Scholarship Plan; a high ranking official has said that without Leighton, the plan might not have succeeded.

Helped Students

One of Leighton's colleagues mentioned with some glee that Leighton often annoyed Administrative boards with his absolute insistence on exploring every possible avenue in decisions which would affect individual students. As Dean of Freshmen, he was known for "bending over backwards" to protect his students.

According to a member of the class of 1937, "we always felt particularly close to him with a sincere camaraderie. To us, he was just plain Harvard."

To students of the past 25 years, Leighton also represents the champion of the commuter.

It was he who convinced Allston Burr to donate a large sum of money in 1935 to establish Dudley Hall; before that, all commuting students ate box-lunches in Phillips Brooks House. Leighton believed that the commuters, who had no central meeting place, were being systematically excluded from college life. After years of manouvering, he finally established the institution, Dudley, which could place the commuting students in the middle of Harvard life.

In 1958, he resigned his post as Dean of the College to take the job which he holds now, the first Master of Dudley House. Since then, he has campaigned to make the commuters an integral part of Harvard by establishing a House library, concentration dinners, and by offering full support to the men who established the co-operative houses.

Students of Dudley last year were offered the sparkling opportunity of being reimbursed from the Master's funds for taking dates to concerts. Unlike the other Houses, Dudley has looked with approval on the inclusion of 'Cliffies in activities. Presently, Leighton's house is the only one with 'Cliffies taking meals there during the week on a regular basis.

According to Charles P. Whitlock, former Allston Burr Senior Tutor of Dudley, "Few people realize the strain that would be placed on the house system if there were no Dudley. If the University should over establish a co-ed House for commuters, [a pot project of Leighton's] it will be because of Leighton's interest in involving the commuter in college."

When Leighton was not looking out for the interests of students, he either escaped to his hide-a-way in Grays 17, where even his secretaries could not find him, or he participated in one of the most comprehensive "extra-curricular" pro- grams ever undertaken by a Harvard administrator.

Leighton is still active as chairman of the youth division of the Cambridge YMCA, vice president of the board of trustees of the Judge Bake Guidance Clinic (one of the country's leading child behavior labs), a member of the Harvard Athletic Committee, and acting chairman of the Phillips Brooke House Association Committee.

Praise From PBH

PBH officers point out that he knows each aspect of the programs as well as if he were actually participating in them.

According to Leighton, after retirement "I'll do the things I've always wanted to do." According to one of his colleagues, he won't have a chance. "Del will be contacted by just about every organization in the state as soon as he retires."

The man who presided over the growth of the freshman year as it is known today, the organization of the Dean's offices, and the inclusion of commuters in the college's life will indeed find it hard to convince people to respect his retirement