Phillips Brooks House's New Leader Pan Is Man on a Mission

Somehow, Vincent Pan '95-'96 knows the name of every bundled-up child in Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA)'s Mission Hill after-school program, of which he is a co-director.

Despite zipped coats and plenty of frenzied spinning on puddle-ice, he calls after one kid here, another there, gathering them up so they can tromp off to their afternoon activities.

And they all know him, too. "Yeeah!" says Leah L. Young, a fourteen-year-old who's been with the Mission Hill program since she was 10, on hearing that Pan will soon be PBHA's new president. "I think he should be president... he's a good person--he's friendly and he's cool."

Apparently, members of PBHA's cabinet agreed with her evaluation. Wednesday night, they chose Pan to lead the campus' largest student organization.

But Pan comes to the presidency at a difficult time in the organization's history, as PBHA faces a possible restructuring at the hands of Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles.

Knowles has just approved the hiring of a new dean and a faculty committee to oversee public service, and some service officials have protested against plans that they say could result in PBHA staff cuts.

Pan is confident he can answer these challenges, however.

"I was elected because people believed, and I believed, that together we could get things done," he says.

The Election

PBHA members say Pan is a low-key and effective leader. Even during Wednesday night's elections, he kept his calm, friendly demeanor, students say.

"He was wearing a jacket and tie, but had taken his jacket off and was wearing a colorful yellow shirt," says Harhie C. Han '97, "He was formal, but not that formal."

Pan was relaxed, despite the circumstances, she says.

"[His] whole approach was like, 'I'm just a friendly guy', and it was really effective," Han says. "It was the little things--he was holding a pack of fluorescent note cards, not some leather organizer."

The aftermath of the election promises to be smooth as well, according to others who ran for Pan's new position.

New PBHA vice-president Eric D. Dawson '96 and treasurer Andrew J. Ehrlich '96 say they have always worked closely with him.

In fact, the night before the elections, Pan and Dawson sat down together and decided the direction they want PBHA to go, Dawson says.

"I'm really looking forward to working with Vin," Dawson says. "He's a good person to lead us, since he's such a vision-oriented, organization-oriented person, rather than being ego oriented.... everything he does, he doesn't show off about--he doesn't wait for applause."

High School

Those who knew Pan before Harvard say he has always been a hard-working, understated and effective leader.

Some things have changed for Pan, however. When he came to Harvard, his primary interest was rugby.

"I didn't know too much about public service," Pan says. "I jointed the Mission Hill after school program to--this sounds cheesy--to make a difference. Whenever I got injured in rugby. I would find myself in Mission Hill....the things I like in rugby, like the camaraderie, were also present there, but it was much more meaningful."

At Millburn High School, in Millburn, N.J., Pan was not a public service volunteer. In fact, he played football, according to his former guidance counselor, Ellen H. Brener.

"Millburn never had a very good team," she says. "Part of his charm was that he wanted to be a football player, and he practiced and practiced and practiced."

Brener and Millburn principal Keith Neigel say Pan was notable for his integrity and effectiveness at getting along with students from all backgrounds.

"He bridged everything," Brener says. "He was the jock and the brain, and he got everyone together. He had this presence about him. He was so democratic in the way he did things that no one ever second-guessed him.... He was extremely well-liked and self-effacing."

As junior class president, Neigel says, Pan fundraised and organized several school projects.

"A lot of kids get elected to these positions to put them on their transcript and don't do much," Neigel says. "He wasn't like that."

But senior year, Pan lost the election for president of his class.

"When it came time to run for class office, there were several people running who used all sorts of gimmicks and he just refused to use them," says Linda L. Lapin, who was Pan's class advisor in high school. "I almost regret that he hadn't, but he had just so much integrity.... we ended up with a president who just didn't follow through."

In his work with the Mission Hill program, Pan has displayed the same dedication he showed in high school, according to Beatrice Brown, a mother of four children in the Mission Hill program. The program serves children in the Mission Hill public housing project in Roxbury.

"There's nothing bad I can say," Brown says. "I would say for someone following in his footsteps, he's a good mentor. I hope [the program] continues on and on. It really is a great asset to any parent whose children are going."

Pan, who walks Brown's children home after the program, sits with them in the kitchen of their small apartment--about the size of a large Weld Hall suite--discussing the kids grades and keeping up on their attendance.

Challenges

Pan will need all his persistence over the next year.

"It's basically a full time job," says Scott McCue '96, Pan's co-chair for the Mission Hill program.

Pan has his own plans for improving the PBHA system, especially in terms of what he calls "enhancement of programming quality."

"We are working for more training that would be useful, both for volunteers and committee chairs," Pan says.

One of Pan's main goals as PBHA president will be to improve communications within the sprawling organization.

"Because PBHA is so large, we have problems," he says. "The thing we lack most is utilizing each other, as people."

Pan will work to step up contact between the four PBH directors of programs and the individual committees. The PBHA board of directors is working on a packet that all the co-chairs will have to work through, then submit to the directors of programs for review, he says.

In Knowles' new recommendations, Pan finds possibilities. "I guess I consider it a victory, for now," he says.

In his position paper, Pan sought a strong role for the president in implementing the new recommendations.

"The PBHA president should seek to ensure that the right person is picked for the [new deanship]," he wrote. "We must guarantee that PBHA has the adequate means to operate safely and responsibly" in the wake of budget restructuring.

Pan also noted a need for PBHA fundraising, led by the new president, and strong community involvement.

"For all PBHA programs, we have to remember that we always have to keep the community involved with our decision," Pan says. "We need to remember that they are our clients, and we serve them."

Though it will be a lot of work, Pan's co-workers say he has the dedication to carry out his plans.

McCue recalled an emergency camping trip that Pan made last summer to help out the Mission Hill Summer Program when Dawson, its director, got bronchitis.

After all the kids had gone to sleep and McCue had forfeited his sleeping bag to a participant who didn't have one, he and Pan sat outside and discussed the program.

"We sat there for hours, talking about PBHA, and I could see how inspired he was about what's going on here," McCue says. "We stayed up almost all night and that's when I realized how much he cares about it."Crimson File PhotoPhillips Brooke House

In fact, the night before the elections, Pan and Dawson sat down together and decided the direction they want PBHA to go, Dawson says.

"I'm really looking forward to working with Vin," Dawson says. "He's a good person to lead us, since he's such a vision-oriented, organization-oriented person, rather than being ego oriented.... everything he does, he doesn't show off about--he doesn't wait for applause."

High School

Those who knew Pan before Harvard say he has always been a hard-working, understated and effective leader.

Some things have changed for Pan, however. When he came to Harvard, his primary interest was rugby.

"I didn't know too much about public service," Pan says. "I jointed the Mission Hill after school program to--this sounds cheesy--to make a difference. Whenever I got injured in rugby. I would find myself in Mission Hill....the things I like in rugby, like the camaraderie, were also present there, but it was much more meaningful."

At Millburn High School, in Millburn, N.J., Pan was not a public service volunteer. In fact, he played football, according to his former guidance counselor, Ellen H. Brener.

"Millburn never had a very good team," she says. "Part of his charm was that he wanted to be a football player, and he practiced and practiced and practiced."

Brener and Millburn principal Keith Neigel say Pan was notable for his integrity and effectiveness at getting along with students from all backgrounds.

"He bridged everything," Brener says. "He was the jock and the brain, and he got everyone together. He had this presence about him. He was so democratic in the way he did things that no one ever second-guessed him.... He was extremely well-liked and self-effacing."

As junior class president, Neigel says, Pan fundraised and organized several school projects.

"A lot of kids get elected to these positions to put them on their transcript and don't do much," Neigel says. "He wasn't like that."

But senior year, Pan lost the election for president of his class.

"When it came time to run for class office, there were several people running who used all sorts of gimmicks and he just refused to use them," says Linda L. Lapin, who was Pan's class advisor in high school. "I almost regret that he hadn't, but he had just so much integrity.... we ended up with a president who just didn't follow through."

In his work with the Mission Hill program, Pan has displayed the same dedication he showed in high school, according to Beatrice Brown, a mother of four children in the Mission Hill program. The program serves children in the Mission Hill public housing project in Roxbury.

"There's nothing bad I can say," Brown says. "I would say for someone following in his footsteps, he's a good mentor. I hope [the program] continues on and on. It really is a great asset to any parent whose children are going."

Pan, who walks Brown's children home after the program, sits with them in the kitchen of their small apartment--about the size of a large Weld Hall suite--discussing the kids grades and keeping up on their attendance.

Challenges

Pan will need all his persistence over the next year.

"It's basically a full time job," says Scott McCue '96, Pan's co-chair for the Mission Hill program.

Pan has his own plans for improving the PBHA system, especially in terms of what he calls "enhancement of programming quality."

"We are working for more training that would be useful, both for volunteers and committee chairs," Pan says.

One of Pan's main goals as PBHA president will be to improve communications within the sprawling organization.

"Because PBHA is so large, we have problems," he says. "The thing we lack most is utilizing each other, as people."

Pan will work to step up contact between the four PBH directors of programs and the individual committees. The PBHA board of directors is working on a packet that all the co-chairs will have to work through, then submit to the directors of programs for review, he says.

In Knowles' new recommendations, Pan finds possibilities. "I guess I consider it a victory, for now," he says.

In his position paper, Pan sought a strong role for the president in implementing the new recommendations.

"The PBHA president should seek to ensure that the right person is picked for the [new deanship]," he wrote. "We must guarantee that PBHA has the adequate means to operate safely and responsibly" in the wake of budget restructuring.

Pan also noted a need for PBHA fundraising, led by the new president, and strong community involvement.

"For all PBHA programs, we have to remember that we always have to keep the community involved with our decision," Pan says. "We need to remember that they are our clients, and we serve them."

Though it will be a lot of work, Pan's co-workers say he has the dedication to carry out his plans.

McCue recalled an emergency camping trip that Pan made last summer to help out the Mission Hill Summer Program when Dawson, its director, got bronchitis.

After all the kids had gone to sleep and McCue had forfeited his sleeping bag to a participant who didn't have one, he and Pan sat outside and discussed the program.

"We sat there for hours, talking about PBHA, and I could see how inspired he was about what's going on here," McCue says. "We stayed up almost all night and that's when I realized how much he cares about it."Crimson File PhotoPhillips Brooke House