Historian Pedersen to Assume Amorphous but Powerful College Post

Sitting with her feet resting on her bookcase, Professor of History Susan G. Pedersen '82 seems relaxed about taking over undergraduate education next year.

"I'm not a dreader, and I'm not an anticipator," she says. "I think I'll find this interesting though."

Pedersen will next semester replace William M. Todd III, professor of Slavic languages and literatures and of comparative literature, as dean of undergraduate education.

An administrative post that fills the ambiguous space between dean of the college and dean of the Faculty, the dean of undergraduate education, broadly speaking, oversees all aspects of the undergraduate curriculum.

The dean has direct oversight of the Core, Expository Writing and all concentrations.

The position has in the past been filled by giants of the Faculty like Marquand Professor of English Lawrence Buell and beloved former master of Adams House and Loker Professor of English Robert J. Kiely '60.

But Pedersen says she expects to handle the job a little differently.

For one thing, she's the first woman to hold the post.

For another thing, she's young. Pedersen says this will help her relate to students better.

"Shopping period, for example, drives a lot of Faculty crazy," she says. "I think it's great because I was here as an undergraduate. It's one of the ancient rites and privileges of the undergraduate."

Though she is young, Pedersen is well respected by her colleagues.

"She has a lively sense of humor and people will enjoy working with her," Todd says.

"I am absolutely delighted that she has accepted the position,' says Dean of Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles.

On the Way

Born in Japan to Lutheran missionaries, Pedersen was raised in Minnesota.

She terms her childhood "rather schizophrenic."

When Pedersen left Minnesota to attend college in Cambridge she never returned. She has been at Harvard ever since her days as a social studies concentrator in Dunster House.

During her time as undergraduate, Pedersen says her academic interests were varied. She took classes in everything from African politics to Russian literature.

"I had one of those transcripts that has courses in probably 15 different departments," she says.

But history was to be Pedersen's love and destiny.

After graduating summa cum laude, Pedersen also received her master's and doctoral degrees from Harvard.

An expert in European studies, particularly economic development and gender, Pedersen is teaching History 10b: "Western Societies, Politics, and Cultures: From 1650 to the Present" this year.

This semester, Pedersen is teaching only half-time (she recently had her second child), but has not diminished the number of senior theses she advises.

"One of the nicest things about being here is advising senior theses," she says. "Students come up with absolutely fascinating, original topics. I learn a lot from them."

Among the most interesting ones she has advised? Papers on 19th century Siamese history and Icelandic history.

"I have done a lot these now, over twenty by this time," Pedersen adds. "Some have been real contributions."

Pedersen has also served on the Historical Studies Core Subcommittee and the Standing Committee on the Status of Women.

These roles have helped prepare Pedersen for her new duties, say Todd and Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68.

"This deanship is not really an administrative one," Todd writes in an e-mail message. "The dean does need to know how to chair a committee, and Professor Pedersen has done this most successfully."

The Role

According to Todd, Buell once called the dean of undergraduate education the "conscience of undergraduate education at Harvard."

Whenever major curricular reforms are in the works--from the 1997 rethinking of Core requirements to required Quantitative Reasoning courses instituted this year--the dean of undergraduate education is at the heart of the discussions.

There are many qualities that are necessary for a good dean, say various administrators. They say Pedersen was an excellent match.

"The dean needs sound academic judgment, since one of the responsibilities is serving with other Academic Deans to advise the Dean of the Faculty on appointments and promotions," he adds.

"The dean needs vision, tact, persuasiveness and an enthusiastic commitment to undergraduate education," Knowles says.

Both deans say that Pedersen will do a wonderful job as dean. She has both the necessary experience and temperament for the job, they say.

"When you meet Professor Pedersen you'll understand why I'm sure that she'll make an outstandingly good dean of undergraduate education," Knowles writes in an e-mail message.

Besides her colleagues' enthusiastic endorsement, Pedersen has her own reasons for accepting the position.

Having gone through Harvard as an undergraduate, Pedersen says she has many views about education here.

"I have a reasonable sense of what I want to see preserved and strengthened," she says.

Pedersen says she also thinks that women should participate as fully as possible in all aspects of Harvard life, even when their personal lives are busy.

A mother of two children under three with a husband who works in New York, Pedersen admits that this is not the easiest time to take on more responsibility.

"I do think it ought to be possible for women in my situation to take on these kinds of roles, so I am willing to try," she says.

The Future is Bright

Though she doesn't officially take until July 1, Pedersen already has some ideas for what she wants to accomplish during her five-year term.

Pedersen says she would like undergraduate requirements to become more flexible so students have more freedom to explore. The Faculty has for several years encouraged departments to lower the number of requirements needed for graduation.

"This University has some of the best resources, in terms of faculty and libraries, in the world," she says. "I'd like undergraduates to be able to use those to the utmost."

Pedersen says she is excited to work with departments other than History and History and Literature, where she has made her home for nearly 20 years.

"What I'm most looking forward to is learning how people--both students and faculty--think and work in disciplines remote from my own, she says. "This will be an education for me, and I think quite an interesting one."