Rosovsky to Head CHUL, Focus on Undergraduates

Deaa Rosovsky will assume the chairmanship of the Committee on Houses and Undergraduate Life (CHUL) next year, in a move that will allow him to give increased attention to undergraduate education and living conditions.

Francis M. Pipkin, associate dean of the Faculty for the colleges and present chairman of the CHUL, announced the change at yesterday's meeting of the CHUL.

Pipkin said Rosovsky's presence will "speed up the decision-making process" and provide Rosovsky with a "better grasp of the concerns of the students and masters."

Rosovsky said his "plans to focus on undergraduate education in the next few years" prompted him to resume the chairmanship of the CHUL. He chaired the committee during his first year as dean of the faculty before delegating the position to Pipkin.

Pipkin told the CHUL that the issues before it are changing and it is time "to move to a final resolution of the housing problem." He cited three specific issues: capacity of the housing system, improvements at the Quad, and freshman affiliation with Houses; and he said that Rosovsky's presence would be valuable next year since the CHUL will no longer be "discussing alternatives but taking action."

Rosovsky refused to comment on any of the issues Pipkin mentioned and would not say if there were others he wanted CHUL to consider. But he said there is "no need for any new direction" on these issues.

Weak Leadership

Pipkin has failed to provide strong and effective leadership in the three years he has chaired the CHUL, members of the CHUL told The Crimson yesterday. They said they felt the change would enhance CHUL's effectiveness and give the committee new direction.

Pipkin failed to exercise control during meetings, Renee M. Landers '77, CHUL representative from Lowell House, said yesterday. "He could have been more forceful and cut off debate" when further discussion seemed unnecessary, she said.

Improvement

He is very capable and has improved recently, she added, but last February, when the CHUL was considering major alterations in the housing system, the meetings were not chaired well.

Pipkin said last February that the CHUL had failed to come to grips with most of the housing problems confronting the University.

Rosovsky said he is "satisfied with the way Pipkin handled the job" but that he wanted Pipkin to chair the Committee on Graduate Education next year.

Pipkin, who will continue to chair the Committee on Undergraduate Education, said that heading all three of the principal Student-Faculty committees would be "burdensome" and "inappropriate."

Sources on the CHUL also said that House masters urged Rosovsky to resume the chairmanship. Masters felt that Rosovsky's absence indicated his lack of concern with the problems of their Houses.

Rosovsky said he consulted with several masters and with Pipkin before deciding to chair the CHUL. "They all thought it was a good idea," he said.

"There is a danger of Rosovsky losing touch and becoming isolated" if he does not maintain close contact with the CHUL, Pipkin said.

Rosovsky's presence "will not inhibit discussion" Pipkin added. However, since Rosovsky "makes the actual decision" on CHUL recommendations, CHUL members will not be able to "play games like they do" when he is not at the meetings, he said.

Rosovsky said he "wants to have closer contact, to some degree with masters but more so with students."

In a separate action, the CHUL voted unanimously to examine the ideal capacity figures that are presently used "to equalize crowding" in the Houses.

An ad hoc committee established by the CHUL will meet during the summer to consider possible changes in the present system and develop alternative methods of determining the ideal capacity of each House