Faculty Council Hears Summers' Allston Plan

University President Lawrence H. Summers tested his tentative plans for Allston before an official body of professors for the first time yesterday, sparking debate among the assembled members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) about whether FAS science should be a part of the new campus.

In a closed meeting, Summers told the Faculty Council—a group of 18 FAS professors who advise the dean and set the agenda for Faculty meetings—that while no final decisions have been made, the Graduate School of Education (GSE) and the School of Public Health (SPH) are the most likely candidates to move across the river, according to one council member.

Summers also said the Law School and the Kennedy School of Government will almost certainly remain in Cambridge, according to the council member.

The GSE and the SPH both face severe space shortages, and as a result have tentatively embraced the possibility of moving to Allston.

But yesterday’s meeting made clear that the emerging debate will center around what FAS facilities, if any, should move to anchor an Allston campus.

The possibility of moving part or all of FAS science drew pointed questions yesterday, especially from scientists on the council, three members said.

Though administrators have said that a major science campus without FAS science is virtually infeasible, scientists expressed trepidation yesterday about having one foot on each side of the river.

Summers’ remarks confirmed that the Allston plan presented at a July meeting of the deans of Harvard’s schools has garnered his tentative support. That plan proposed a campus centered around the GSE, the SPH and a cluster of new science facilities.

That proposal also included plans to move some undergraduate housing, activity and social space across the river, forging a College campus on both banks of the Charles.

Though the undergraduate housing aspects of the plan remain vague, Dean of the Faculty William C. Kirby and various faculty members discussed the need to alleviate the College housing space crunch yesterday.

In earlier phases of deliberation Harvard’s museums had been considered prime candidates for relocation, but Summers indicated yesterday that they will likely stay in Cambridge, according to the council member.

Although administrators had previously predicted that construction on the heart of the new campus would not begin for at least ten years, Summers said yesterday that the groundbreaking might begin as soon as 2006 and certainly before 2013, according to the council member.

But even then, it may be years before the Allston move is complete. According to the council member, Summers said components of the new campus will be relocated across the river in a piecemeal fashion.

Summers declined to comment on yesterday’s meeting, as did several council members, who said last night that they were abiding by Summers’ request to not discuss the issue until he makes a public announcement, which he has promised for this fall.

Yesterday was the first time Summers himself has discussed the plans with anyone other than top University administrators.

But while this meeting seems to be a step towards solidifying Allston’s future, administrators and council members alike said that plans for the land remain open to discussion.

—Staff writer Stephen M. Marks can be reached at marks@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Rebecca D. O’Brien can be reached at robrien@fas.harvard.edu.