Students Will Miss Leverett's Dowlings

When Judy and John E. Dowling '57 retire as masters of Leverett House at the end of the year, they will be missed.

"Everyone's been talking about it," said Elliot N. Dehaan '99. "People are pretty moved by it, they're wondering who can replace them."

Leaving after a 17-year term as Leverett House Masters, the Dowlings are departing to pursue other interests.

Judy Dowling plans to continue working with her Boston art gallery. John Dowling, who is also Cabot professor of natural sciences, will devote his extra time to his academic responsibilities.

"It's sad because I think he's a nice guy. He really made an effort to get to know the students," said Dominique Kalil '00.

Students cited the Dowlings' biweekly open houses as examples of the masters' devotion to getting to know the students.

"You can just go into his home and wander around," Kalil said. "How many other people are willing to do that?"

Nancy M. Dammann '97 said that she has always been impressed by the Dowlings' efforts to reach out to the students.

"He knew my name my sophomore year, I was very impressed," she said. "Often he'll just come in and eat with the students."

Dehaan said that John Dowling encouraged a sense of House spirit in his tenure as master.

"His dedication was real, and he added a lot to the character of Leverett House as well," Dehaan said.

But despite the Dowlings' dedication to the House, many Leverett tutors said that they were not surprised by their recent announcement.

"He's been talking about retiring for a while, and most tutors knew this was coming," said Steve L. Scott, a residential tutor.

"He did a great job as master, and he's certainly very aware of what's going on in the House," he added.

Several students said that they will miss very specific things about the Dowlings.

"I'm really going to miss their monkey bread," said Adam G. Kosberg '00