Author, Zoo Buff Signs On To FDO

Only two weeks after D.E. Lorraine Sterritt's decision to leave Harvard for the University of Pennsylvania, Rory A. W. Browne has been chosen to succeed Sterritt as the Associate Dean of Freshmen.

Browne will leave his position as Harvard's Associate Secretary to the University in the Office of Governing Boards and assume his new role with the Freshman Dean's Office (FDO) on June 30.

Browne realized he wanted to work directly with students partially because of his positive undergraduate experience in his current position.

"One of the greatest pleasures was to be able to organize panels of undergraduates," Browne said of his work for the Governing Boards.

Browne said he wants to help first years who feel "overwhelmed" by Harvard. And while he says the advising system is well-stocked, he sees room for improvement.

"[I want to] try to get more people into the system," he said. "It's better if you can lower the ratio [of advisers to students]."

He also said he wanted to add the personal touch.

"[Advising] is not just a system, not just rules and regulations," he said.

According to Dean of Freshmen Elizabeth Studley Nathans, Browne will assume Sterritt's responsibilities, which include pre-concentration advising and working with the Advanced Standing Program.

However, she added each administrator "eventually puts his or her own stamp on every position he or she holds."

Browne brings advising experience, from both Harvard and Yale to the FDO. His roles at Harvard included being an Allston Burr senior tutor in Quincy House and a non-resident adviser to students.

While at Yale he helped establish one of the top models for first year academic advising, according to Nathans.

"One of the things we tried to do [at Yale] was to ensure that every freshman had an adviser and that they had someone to talk to about larger questions," Browne said.

Besides advising, he has also taught at Yale and Harvard. Browne has lectured for the History and Literature Concentration and specializes in 17th- and 18th-century history.

Browne also holds an interest in the social and cultural history of zoos. His love for zoos began during his childhood in England; he grew up next to the London Zoo.

"Zoos are as much about people as they are about animals. The study of zoos can tell us a lot about ourselves," Browne said.

He has written a book entitled Zootimes, which will soon be published by Yale University Press. Browne has also served as an overseer and executive committee member of Zoo New England and co-chair of that group's education and conservation committee.

"Dean Browne's appointment concludes a necessarily brief but intense national search which yielded an extraordinarily strong pool of candidates from both within and outside of Harvard," Nathans concluded in her e-mail message.