Selection may reflect shifting University focus

Like his predecessor, Paul S. Grogan is a hired gun.

But where James H. Rowe III '73 set his sights on Capitol Hill budget-cutters, Harvard's new vice president of government, community and public affairs may have been picked because he can win on the home front.

In 1994, Harvard needed an advocate in Washington, so it tapped Rowe, who had once been NBC's top D.C. lawyer, to lead the world's richest university through the Republican Revolution unscathed.

Now, one big problem is a shortage of land and an abundance of anxious neighbors.

Harvard revealed two summers ago that it had bought $88 million worth of land in the blue-collar community of Allston and took massive heat from the community. Northeast of campus, opposition to the proposed Knafel Center has forced plans to be redrawn three times, with no sign of easing up.

And so enter Grogan, with 12 years of work in a non-profit organization supporting neighborhood revitalization and a decade as Boston's head of neighborhood development.

He has made a name for himself working with and through community leaders. Now he is point man for Cambridge's largest landlord, and those at the end of Harvard's tentacles could start to worry again.

Some, like spokesperson Kevin McCluskey '76, say it's shortsighted to pigeonhole Grogan as a neighborhoods specialist. And of course hisposition entails a number of other functions, fromtalking head in a crisis to Capitol Hill envoy.

But officials say Rowe's efforts have leftHarvard's lobbying forces well-organized andwell-placed in Washington. The Washington officewill not run completely on its own, but Groganwill not have to sink the time into Washingtonthat Rowe did.

And so, "if there is a period of some stability[in Washington], we can put more effort andemphasis on local relationships," Grogan says.

But beyond simply building relationships withalienated neighborhood leaders, Grogan's talentscould also be used to try to hold down and listento neighborhood anger as the University actuallyexpands.

And where could this expansion go?

The most immediate target will be the Knafelcenter, but in the long term the most potentialfor backlash lies in Allston.

In that working-class Boston neighborhood, theUniversity just purchased 52.6 acres of land,divided between large tracts of land on the eastand scattered storefronts on the west. Harvardsays for now that this is just a land bank, withno immediate plans for development.

But Harvard has the land to build a newgraduate school in Allston, or move a crowdedschool (like Grogan's alma mater the GSE) acrossthe river, and then the shopping-center propertyto control what stores move in to serve thestudents it ships to Allston.

Add these two together and you have thepotential for gentrification paranoia. AndGrogan's experience makes him the best man tohandle these sorts of complaints.

Grogan's expertise in community relations mightbe a preparation, for new initiatives. Or it couldjust be a precaution, a hedge against communityuproar in the future.

In any event, it likely signals a swing in theaim of Harvard's mouthpiece, back from an emphasison Washington politics to the concerns ofHarvard's neighbors

But officials say Rowe's efforts have leftHarvard's lobbying forces well-organized andwell-placed in Washington. The Washington officewill not run completely on its own, but Groganwill not have to sink the time into Washingtonthat Rowe did.

And so, "if there is a period of some stability[in Washington], we can put more effort andemphasis on local relationships," Grogan says.

But beyond simply building relationships withalienated neighborhood leaders, Grogan's talentscould also be used to try to hold down and listento neighborhood anger as the University actuallyexpands.

And where could this expansion go?

The most immediate target will be the Knafelcenter, but in the long term the most potentialfor backlash lies in Allston.

In that working-class Boston neighborhood, theUniversity just purchased 52.6 acres of land,divided between large tracts of land on the eastand scattered storefronts on the west. Harvardsays for now that this is just a land bank, withno immediate plans for development.

But Harvard has the land to build a newgraduate school in Allston, or move a crowdedschool (like Grogan's alma mater the GSE) acrossthe river, and then the shopping-center propertyto control what stores move in to serve thestudents it ships to Allston.

Add these two together and you have thepotential for gentrification paranoia. AndGrogan's experience makes him the best man tohandle these sorts of complaints.

Grogan's expertise in community relations mightbe a preparation, for new initiatives. Or it couldjust be a precaution, a hedge against communityuproar in the future.

In any event, it likely signals a swing in theaim of Harvard's mouthpiece, back from an emphasison Washington politics to the concerns ofHarvard's neighbors