University News Office Plans to Restructure

After a 19-year career in the Harvard News Office, yesterday the University tapped Joe Wrinn as its new Director of News and Public Affairs.

But the move was more than a promotion for Wrinn, who currently runs the office and The Gazette, its award-winning house newspaper.

It is the most visible step taken to date in an ongoing plan to overhaul the face Harvard presents to the public--attempting to shake off an image that Harvard is rich and aloof to its Boston-area neighbors and the public in general.

The changes began three months ago with the selection of Paul S. Grogan, a seasoned operator in the world of Boston politics as well as veteran of urban non-profit work, as Harvard's vice president for government, community and public affairs.

Grogan, whose urban-politics background contrasts sharply with that of his predecessor, Washington insider James H. Rowe III '73, has presented the University with a new vision for public relations focused more on the local community.

The University, Grogan says, is plagued by a public image both "incorrect and unfavorable"--that it is so wealthy it can do whatever it wants whenever it wants; that it remains totally uninvolved in the local community.

As Grogan puts it, the problem is that "Harvard is a problem."

"It retards the kind of relationship we want with the community," Grogan says.

Creating that relationship will entail new personnel, new publications, new technology and a lot of time. And in the most tangible sign that a new public relations machine is being built, Harvard's public relations offices will require more money.

The News Office

Housed high above campus on the top floor of the Holyoke Center, the News Office has a view of the entire University.

But for those in the outside world who want to get a look at Harvard, the News Office's is often the only view they get.

It is there that The Gazette is headquartered, there that Harvard drafts its press releases and there that outsiders must direct all their questions of the University.

But, says Wrinn, the office can no longer keep up with all of its duties.

"We are simply not prepared right now to answer the volume of questions that come through the office," Wrinn says.

The Internet and the so-called 24-hour news cycle have led to a dramatic increase in media requests about Harvard.

And these requests often deal with anything and everything across the world on which someone from Harvard's expertise is required.

"Any time there's a major event [in the world,] our switchboards light up," Wrinn says.

What is more, Grogan aims to do more than meet all the requests the office gets. The University, he says, needs to do a better job "telling our story," spreading news about Harvard to those who don't yet even know they want it.

"A lot of people are interested in us," Grogan says, "We have to make sure we're not waiting for them to come to us."

For Grogan, Wrinn's new position is a major part of that vision, largely because of his "reputation and belief that communication is a two-way street."

Alex Huppe, who Wrinn will replace, adds that Wrinn "knows the business so well and knows Harvard so well" that he will be effective in telling Harvard's story.

Wrinn's appointment is only the first step: he and Grogan plan to release more Harvard publications, like the Harvard Guide -a kind of tour book for the campus and environs--as well as gathering Gazette stories into "packages" on various issues, which can be given to both media and lawmakers.

They are also planning a restructuring of the news office, working to expand its staff and requesting budget increases from the University that should be notably larger than in years past.

"Obviously there will be some reorganization because form follows function," Grogan says, adding, "I don't think [the current budget] is adequate."

Physical changes will also be undertaken, as the news office undergoes a renovation, bringing its photography studio--currently housed on Church Street--into the main office in Holyoke Center.

The goal of all these changes is a new way of operating the News Office, seeking out the media rather than waiting for reporters to come in on their own.

"We do a really good job of reacting to news that comes to us, but I think we could do an even better job of making advances to the media," Provost Harvey V. Fineberg '67 says.

And in only three months, Grogan has managed to seize on one of President Neil L. Rudenstine's pet concepts: centralization.

Although Grogan has no plans to undermine the news offices of the University's separate schools--and is considering adding one for the only school that doesn't have one, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences--Grogan also wants to "centralize information."

That centralization would mean gathering information from the various schools so that it could be distributed by the University's news office. Reporters looking for information about the different schools at Harvard could then search on one database.

At the same time, it would help the news offices of the various schools coordinate better.

"You wouldn't want schools releasing things on the same day," Wrinn says. More organization will mean, "you invent the wheel only once."

The Internet will be a key part of this effort, beginning with what Wrinn calls "better road mapping," meaning that Harvard's Web site will do a better job of directing visitors and the curious to the highlights of what Harvard has to offer.

"You have to know far too much about Harvard to get around the [University's] Web site," he says.

Town and Gown

Grogan's plan for improving Harvard's ability to communicate with outsiders is designed with the ultimate aim of setting up better relations with the local community.

The University has come under fire in recent years for policies that were not perceived as community-friendly.

It secret purchase of land in Allston and original, imposing plans for the Knafel Center met with violent criticism from community leaders in Allston and Cambridge.

Harvard's tax-exempt status--a privilege of being an educational institution that the University makes up for with massive "gifts" to Cambridge and Boston--has also been a sticking point recently with some local politicians.

"The perception of many people in our community is that Harvard isn't very engaged with its community," Grogan says. "The reality of that is actually the reverse."

To change this misconception, he emphasizes that dialogue with local leaders is key. "I think we've got to talk and listen with our community," Grogan says.

Harvard must sell itself to the local news outlets, broadcasting the good it does for Cambridge, Boston and local residents, according to Grogan.

He cites need-blind admissions as one area that Harvard fails to explain adequately to the community. Harvard's policy is to admit students regardless of their ability to pay and then to offer aid in the amount they need.

Many in the community are not aware of this policy, Grogan says, and think Harvard does not award scholarships to those in the community who cannot afford tuition.

Fineberg gave Harvard's community service programs as an example of involvement with the community that the University should publicize.

"We don't tell that story very well," Fineberg says. "We don't make enough of the things we're already doing."

Issues like the Allston land grab and the Knafel Center are not going away anytime soon, as the Cambridge real estate market becomes tighter and tighter.

Plans to expand graduate student housing are one example of the University's continuing interaction with local government, an area where Harvard would like to avoid any future friction.

"There's a certain amount of tension that's always there," Fineberg says. "We have almost as much land in Boston as we do in Cambridge...Local relations really do matter a lot."

Keeping the Heat on Washington

While Harvard turns its attention to community relations and restructuring the News Office, University officials say they are not neglecting the Washington agenda, lobbying for Harvard's interests in national politics.

According to Grogan, with the political balance in Congress potentially on the verge of shifting, national politics could prove a very important concern for Harvard, particularly as Congress continues to discuss legislation that could significantly affect the University.

As the health care debate heats up, officials fear that changes to financing may cut down funding for medical schools and make it more difficult for "teaching hospitals"--like many operated with HMS--to break even.

"Harvard exists in a world where federal policy matters a great deal," Grogan says. "The country has failed hitherto to come to grips with the cost of medical school."

Harvard has 17 affiliated teaching hospitals. "Neil Rudenstine and [Dean of the Medical School Joseph B.] Martin are obviously deeply concerned about the health of the hospitals," Grogan says.

Fineberg says many administrators are "deeply worried" about the issue.

Rudenstine also remains committed to issues of diversity of education that Harvard has lobbied strongly for in Washington since the beginning of his term.

"It is one thing that this president has put at the top of his agenda," Fineberg says.