College Names Currier Master Deputy Dean

Patricia O’Brien, co-Master of Currier House and, until recently, dean of the Simmons College School of Management, has been appointed to the new position of deputy dean of the College, according to an announcement made last Thursday.

“There is a new President, new Deans, a new curriculum, new expansion in the sciences, and it looks like this will influence the College for years to come,” said O’Brien. “I have been co-Master for only one year, but it has been a fabulous year. Harvard students are quite amazing, and it’s a great time to be at a wonderful place.”

As deputy dean, O’Brien stands to shoulder some of the responsibilities of Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71.

“I realized earlier in the year that the job I was taking on was my job from last year, [Dean Harry R. Lewis ’68]’s job from last year, and the curricular review. And that was just too much,” said Gross. “So I’ve tried to touch most of the bases this year in the College. But I realize that I had to hire someone to help me divide up this job.”

Gross said that he thinks it is essential that College administrators are involved in the College.

According to a press release from the College, O’Brien will “oversee all aspects of College life.” Gross described her position as a sort of “chief of staff,” or “executive dean of the Faculty.”

“I’ll be working with all the associate deans, and I will be working as liaison to a couple of parts of the College such as UHS [University Health Services],” said O’Brien. “I will also be working with the Registrar, the Freshman Dean’s Office, OCS [Office of Career Services], and I hope to be working with students.”

In addition, O’Brien will continue to serve as co-Master of Currier House, and will co-chair the Administrative Board with Gross.

“I would say that the Ad Board is a really important part of the undergraduate system at the College, so I am pleased to be part of it,” said O’Brien.

She said that though she has not yet sat on the Ad Board, she is open to the idea of including students as members.

“In general, I have found students on committees to be fabulous contributors,” she said. “We would not have had as good of a Hilles report without them.”

O’Brien will assume official responsibilities as deputy dean on August 1, but she said that there are many aspects of her job that remain unclear.

“I think that some of [the duties] have yet to be determined,” she said. “This is a brand new position...and what I will do within the first months is to figure out what my priorities are based on talking to others.”

LEADING FROM EXPERIENCE

O’Brien comes into the office of deputy dean after many years of management experience as dean of the Simmons School of Management, an institution which, according to its website, is a business school that is “dedicated to educating women for power and leadership.”

According to O’Brien, she hopes to bring this experience with her into her new position.

Simmons Associate Dean Deborah Merrill-Sands, currently acting dean, said that during O’Brien’s seven years as dean, she has significantly built up the faculty and strengthened the school’s MBA program.

“[O’Brien] helped bring in several new Fortune 100 companies to do executive training of women leaders,” Merrill-Sands said. “She increased both enrollment and revenue, and increased the visibility and reputation of the School of Management.”

She added that although O’Brien will be leaving Simmons, she has given the School of Management “a very solid foundation,” and “we are on a solid trajectory for growth.”

“She’s leaving us in a very good position,” Merrill-Sands said.

It is precisely this capability to lead and manage which made O’Brien a successful candidate for her new job.

“I was very impressed with Patricia O’Brien’s skills, both as a leader of the program in Management at Simmons and as a House Master,” said Gross. “She is able to communicate well with students and faculty, and her work on the Hilles committee will continue through next year.”

As co-Master of Currier House, O’Brien led the committee charged with producing the Hilles report, a recommendation to the College on the allocation of the Hilles Library space which was expected to be released about a month ago.

But an extensive interview process for the position delayed the report. O’Brien was up against deans from several major schools for the deputy dean position, which was advertised this spring in the Chronicle of Higher Education and other media sources.

She said she intends to complete all of her previous responsibilities before beginning her work as deputy dean, and the Hilles report should be out in the near future.

Gross said that he “was very impressed with the way she’s handled her work with the Hilles committee.”

Though O’Brien said she believes that she will still play some role in the Hilles project, she said she will most likely not chair the implementation committee.

“I doubt I will chair the next committee—I believe that it will mostly be made up of engineers and architects,” said O’Brien.

Many students who have worked with O’Brien welcome her appointment, praising her as a leader who is willing to listen to students and represent them to the College administration.

“I am really excited,” said Currier House Committee secretary Lacey R. Whitmire ’05. “In just a year, she has thrown herself into learning the Harvard system—what classes we’re taking, what we do in our spare time, learning the acronyms of student groups. That’s not an easy task for an outsider, she’s shown a lot of enthusiasm.”

“I think that [O’Brien] is a really good administrator,” said Michael J. Wu ’06, a student member on the Hilles committee. “She was really great at leading meetings, and she’s very receptive to student concerns. I think [her appointment] is a great choice.”

“[O’Brien] is a great communicator in terms of bringing student concerns in a conversation to College administrators,” said Divya A. Mani ’05.

Mani, who is also a Crimson editor, is a member of the Undergraduate Council’s Campus Life Committee and a Currier House resident.

“She’s been very proactive in coming up with real solutions. From my point of view, we need more people like her in the administration—she’s very creative and quick-thinking,” Mani adds.

—Staff writer Risheng Xu can be reached at xu4@fas.harvard.edu.