Tutor Quits, Citing Tiff With Dean Lewis

Lowell House Senior Tutor Marshall T. Poe said yesterday that his decision to step down at the end of the academic year—announced Sunday to House residents—resulted from a disagreement with Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis ’68.

Poe, who is also a lecturer on history and literature, said the disagreement centered around the appropriate role of senior tutors. He said that while he believes senior tutor should be more involved in student life, the College administrators in University Hall are more concerned that senior tutors fulfill administrative duties.

“My own personal experience is there’s an entire part of the [senior tutor’s] job University Hall doesn’t see and that has to do with the everyday counseling that goes on on the job,” Poe said.

“I consider [counseling] the most important job,” he said. “I think University Hall and Dean Lewis think that’s the wrong approach, that they feel as if the senior tutor is just sort of an administrator first.”

Poe said deans told him they did not like certain actions he was taking as early as September—the first month of his tenure as senior tutor.

But Poe said a few months ago College administrators “crossed this boundary,” causing his decision to leave. Poe refused to comment the specific conflict that led him to decide to leave.

“We agreed to disagree about the role of the Allston Burr Senior Tutor,” Poe said. “If [Lewis] doesn’t have the confidence that I can do the job the way he thinks it should be done, I should go somewhere else. That’s the professional thing to do.”

Lewis would not comment yesterday on the reasons for Poe’s resignation or Poe’s statements about the disagreement between the two.

“I am grateful to Dr. Poe for his service as Senior Tutor during the past year,” Lewis wrote in an e-mail. “I have accepted his resignation and I wish him every success in his future endeavors.”

Assistant Dean of the College David B. Fithian, who is responsible for training College administrators—including senior tutors—declined to comment.

Poe said he deliberately focused his energy as senior tutor on personally interacting with students.

Poe said he wished while in college he “could have a heart-to-heart discussion with an academic about my future and know that it would be confidential.”

Luis A. Campos ’99, a Lowell House resident tutor, said he does not think the administrative role and counseling role are mutually exclusive.

“Having a good rapport with students can only help your ability to function as an administrator and I think Marshall has probably proven himself in this area,” Campos said.

Lowell House residents said they appreciate Poe’s emphasis on student interaction.

“It was really awesome to have somebody in a position of authority in the House who really had an appreciation of the social aspects of House life,” said Rachelle K. Gould ’03.

Gould cited last Friday’s Battle of the Bands in the Lowell House courtyard as an example of Poe’s commitment to improving House social life.

“I don’t know if we’re really the coolest House on campus, but he certainly helped up the ‘coolness’ quotient,” Gould said.

Timothy A. Wickland ’04 said he is upset Lowell will be losing Poe next year.

“I’m very ticked off he’s leaving,” Wickland said. “I’m much more sorry to see Marshall Poe go than Cornel West.”

In his message Sunday to the Lowell House e-mail list, Poe facetiously compared his departure to that of Fletcher University Professor Cornel R. West ’74, jokingly saying University President Lawrence H. Summers chastised him for participating in a rock band.

Poe said he does not yet have definite plans for next year.

“I think I may go write the great American novel...or I may go into Indy [car] racing,” Poe said.

—Staff writer Anne K. Kofol can be reached at kofol@fas.harvard.edu.