Mather House Masters Resign Posts To Accept Twin Positions at Brown

Mather House Co-Masters David J. and Patricia A. Herlihy, best known among students for their efforts to ease house overcrowding and make the partially completed structure more livable, will leave Harvard at the end of the spring semester to accept twin lifetime positions at Brown.

The Herlihys, who have overseen Mather House activities for 10 years, said that they accepted the two offers--his in medieval history and hers in Russian history--so that Patricia Herlihy could pursue her scholarly career in a tenured position.

The move will involve the unusual resignation of David Herlihy from an endowed lifetime post as Harvard's Lea Professor of Medieval History.

The Herlihys' departure will also mark the second time within as many months that house masters have said they will leave the traditionally five year job, which requires faculty members or administrators to oversee house policy and serve as nonacademic liaisons between undergraduates and the dean of the College.

In December, Currier House Masters Dudley R. and Georgene B. Herschbach announced their decision to resign their co-mastership at the end of the spring term. The Herschbachs will remain at Harvard.

College officials yesterday said the search for new Mather masters is not yet underway.

Happy Days

The Herlihys' announcement came in a January 26 letter to Mather House residents in which the masters called their years in the house "among the happiest of our lives."

"Brown University has offered us both tenured appointments in its Department of History. As you probably realize, it is extremely difficult for a husband and wife to obtaintenured posts in the same department," the letterreads.

David Herlihy, who teaches the popular CoreCurriculum course, Historical Study B-15. "TheBlack Death," said yesterday that the joint postsarose through lucky coincidence. A seniormedievalist at Brown retired, and a Russianhistorian decided to take on more administrativeresponsibilities, creating openings in theHerlihys' special fields, he said.

"For Pat in particular," the Herlihys' lettercontinues, "it is an exceptional opportunity toreturn under excellent terms to fulltime teachingand research in Russian history."

Patricia Herlihy taught at Brown for two yearsas a visiting professor. She has also taught on atemporary basis at Wellesley College, theUniversity of Rhode Island and BrandeisUniversity, and has been an instructor in Russianand Soviet History at Harvard's Extension School.

"I'm usually substituting for other people onleave," she said yesterday. "I was hoping for abreak somewhere."

Job security was the primary factor in theHerlihys' decision to leave Harvard, PatriciaHerlihy said. Faculty members without tenure arenot guaranteed teaching positions on a long-termbasis.

Patricia Herlihy added that she had "beenlooking in the vicinity ever since we arrived" fora permanent teaching job, preferably one to whichshe could commute. "If I could have taughtanywhere within a reasonable radius I would havestayed," she said. "I hate leaving Mather House. Iloved it here."

"We all regret very much that the Herlihys areleaving," Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57said yesterday. "They've been exceptional housemasters. We'll miss them a great deal."

"Professor Herlihy has been a very successfulteacher here," said History Department ChairmanAngeliki E. Laiou. "He is an eminent scholar.Obviously, his departure will be a loss to thedepartment."

Laiou added that the department has not yetlaunched a search for a scholar to replaceHerlihy. "Harvard has had a long, distinguishedtradition in medieval history," she said. "We'lltry to continue that tradition."

During their 10 years as masters, the Herlihysacquired what Patricia Herlihy called a"kaleidoscope of experience."

In their tenure the pair has had to battle whatmany termed "intolerable" overcrowding in thehouse's 55-suite low rise. Largely throughPatricia Herlihy's initiative, the student-facultyCommittee on House Life last year devised a planto spread the burden of crowding more evenly amongthe 12 residential houses.

In addition to serving on the housingcommittee, the Herlihys have served as facultyadvisors to the Harvard-Radcliffe Gay and LesbianStudents Association (GLSA) and the CatholicStudents' Center.

"They are perhaps the most open people I've methere at Harvard," said Mather resident JakeStevens '86, former president of the GLSA. "Asadministrators, they have a basic sense offairness that I've haven't found much aroundhere."

Many Mather residents will remember theHerlihys best as the hosts of the annual SophomoreOuting, in which the masters take the housenewcomers to their home in Hull, Mass. "It was ablast, one of the best experiences I've had atHarvard," said Arthur M. Mandel '88, of hisweekend of "raucous, crazy sophomore fun."

The college must now go about the lengthyprocess of selecting new masters for both Currierand Mather Houses.

"We'll set up a process by which we'll try tocommunicate with students in the Houses and try toelicit suggestions and comments," Jewett said.After a committee of administrators selectscandidates, President Derek C. Bok will make thefinal decision. The search has been launched forthe Currier masters.

"I hope they let us have some say in choosingthe new masters," said Matherite Vivian T. Pan'88. "I'm sorry the Herlihys are leaving."

Said Patricia Herlihy: "I've invited so manyMather students down to Providence, we'll haveopen houses down there!"DAVID J. and PATRICIA A. HERLIHY