Class of '96 Will See Changes in Yard Life

Associate Dean of Freshmen W.C. Burriss Young '55 won't be walking his dog out of his Massachusetts Hall residence when September rolls around.

Instead, the man who has lived in the celebrated building longer than anyone in recent memory will be temporarily housed at 29 Garden St., where 150 members of the Class of '96 must live because of Yard dorm renovations.

Young's "departure" is just one of the many changes in store for the incoming first-year class.

Besides scheduled renovations of several Yard dormitories--including weld Hall in the fall and Matthews Hall in the spring--other developments this past spring may mean a new kind of frosh experience.

The changes start at the top: A new dean will move in at the Freshman Dean's Office (FDO).

Duke University Associate Dean Elizabeth S. Nathans accepted the post in April and will be bringing her expertise in academic advising to Harvard.

In addition a 12-member student committee that participated in the dean selection process will submit a set of proposals to improve first-year life this summer.

Nathans will take the helm from Acting Dean of Freshmen Virginia L. Mackay-Smith 78, who filled the post after Henry C. Moses resigned last year.

Nathans was the dean of first-year students at Duke from 1971 to 1972 and has been the associate dean of Duke's Trinity College of Arts and Sciences for the past 20 years.

She established Duke's well-known Pre-Major Advising Center in 1988, and has directed it since then.

The incoming dean says she is enthusiastic about modifying Harvard's first-year advising system so "students learn how to use their advisers and all the other resources as well as possible."

Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57, who announced Nathans' appointment, says the new administrator has an ideal background to run the FDO.

"She's obviously bringing us a lot of experience working with students, and with an academic advising system," says Jewett. "she also has a reputation of being an effective administrator and a leader in her community."

Nathans' selection was the result of a yearlong search by two separate faculty and student committee created by Jewett.

"We did not make an offer to another person," says Jewett, but he would not say whether Nathans was the College's first choice. Some sources close to the search committees suggest that Nathans was not.

Mukesh Prasad '93, a member of the student committee, says Nathans was the "first person to receive an offer."

Nathans was one of six candidates recommended by the student committee, but the committee did not rank the candidates, he says.

Mackay-Smith, who was also former assistant dean and proctor, was also under consideration for the post. Nathans says Mackay-Smith would be a great asset to the FDO in the upcoming year.

"I certainly hope she stays with the FDO in a very senior capacity," Nathans says. "I think her expertise would be very helpful, especially during the transition period."

Jewett says he "shouldn't comment" on whether Mackay-Smith will remain in the FDO next year, but he "very much hope[s] she stays within the University wherever she can be the most effective."

Aside from improving the advising system, Nathans declines to discuss the specifics of the new first-year program. She says she needs to meet with her new staff before commenting on strategies for the fall.

"It would be inappropriate for me to talk about those plans because I haven't met with my staff yet," says Nathans, who will formally take over in July.

Nathans has already contacted the student committee writing recommendations on first-year life. Prasad says he was encouraged by his early conversations with the new dean.

"We were impressed with her qualifications in the advising field, which was one of the things we were most looking for in the candidates," says Prasad.

"Also, she is very eager to hear students' views, which was very pleasing to us," he says.

The committee interviewed upperclass and first-year students at length throughout the year, examining areas of first year life that students believe need improvement.

The committee's report will address issues in four major categories: academics, advising (the proctor system), social life and special programs.

The last category includes programs in expository writing, sophomore standing, first-year seminars, prefects and housing integration, says Prasad.

Prasad adds that the committee is considering a student-run Freshman Council that would plan social events and bring student concerns directly to the dean and other administrators.

Prasad recently sent a preliminary report to Nathans and the committee's members will work on the report during the summer. The committee will hold debates in September before preparing a final draft for Nathans.