Wolcowitz Will Manage Curricular Review

University Hall administrators are playing another round of musical chairs.

Two seasoned officials are stepping into more senior roles in the College administration in an effort to alleviate stress created by the ongoing curricular review and to refine last spring’s administrative restructuring, which left gaps in the day-to-day oversight of undergraduate affairs.

Associate Dean of the College Jeffrey Wolcowitz, who currently has responsibility for the organizational matters of undergraduate education, will take on the role of “manager” of the curricular review. Wolcowitz will be charged with oversight of the administrative side of the ongoing examination of Harvard’s undergraduate academic experience.

Elizabeth Doherty, who has been the director of the freshman seminar program since 2001, will fill the vacancy created by Wolcowitz’s promotion.

Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71 announced the changes Monday in an e-mail to a collection of administrators and faculty.

Gross cited the curricular review as the impetus behind the reshuffling.

“We are now entering a particularly important phase of the curricular review, and it has become clear to me that the skills of an energetic and able senior administrator are required to oversee and coordinate the work of the review,” Gross wrote.

“Jeff is moving into a new planning position...where he will act as the senior chief staff person in charge of day-to-day affairs,” he said in an interview Monday.

Wolcowitz said his promotion stemmed from a feeling that the curricular review needed a single person to devote all of his or her time to the task of keeping things on track.

Though the four review committees were slated to report back to the Faculty by this spring with concrete recommendations for the future of the curriculum, those involved have said the undertaking is larger than originally expected.

“As the review began to move forward we realized we had not fully anticipated the amount of staffing it would need,” Wolcowitz said. “The question became how to make sure the review gets all the attention that it requires. It’s really a major undertaking as you know, and we’re trying to make it quite comprehensive.”

Wolcowitz said that his change of title will not mean drastically new responsibilities. Rather, the new position will allow him to devote more time to the curricular review as it picks up speed.

“I have been part of the process from the start,” he said. “It’s not so much a change in access to the process for me; it’s the ability to devote more time to it and make sure that things continue to move forward.”

With his promotion, Wolcowitz is being treated to new digs.

Wolcowitz has already relocated to Gross’ corner office, which was left vacant after last spring’s restructuring merged his position of dean of undergraduate education with the role of dean of Harvard College.

Meanwhile, Doherty will take over Wolcowitz’s old work space—and the management of the many day-to-day affairs of undergraduate education previously under Wolcowitz’s oversight. These matters include the Expository Writing program, the Bok Center for Teaching and Learning and the Office of International Programs. Doherty will also have responsibility for curricular planning and resource allocation.

The section of University Hall that houses Wolcowitz and Doherty’s new offices, formerly devoted to the now defunct “Office for Undergraduate Education,” will take on a new name, possibly the “Office for Academic Programs in Harvard College,” according to Doherty.

The change, according to both Wolcowitz and Doherty, has been in discussion for months.

Doherty was named to a part-time post in University Hall last summer as “Special Assistant to the Dean of Harvard College,” charged with organizing staff meetings and serving as the point of contact between the College and other University offices.

That move, she says, gave College administrators a “sense that they were thinking about a different role.”

Gross said Monday he was confident with the choice.

“Beth knows the office very well already.” Gross said. “I wouldn’t bring her in the beginning of the year otherwise. She’s worked with everybody.”

Neither Wolcowitz nor Doherty knew whether their posts would continue as conceived after the review has been fully implemented.

“I don’t know about after the curricular review,” Wolcowitz said. “The implementation of this project will take a while. I’m hoping it goes well, and if it goes well, I don’t know about the structure.”

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