Ducey Leaves Bureau of Study Counsel

Director of the Bureau of Study Counsel Charles P. Ducey left his post last month abruptly and silently, just as oversight of Harvard’s mental health resources was transferred to a newly consolidated leadership.

Although Ducey remained above the fray, his departure comes after months of criticism of the recommendations of the mental health task force’s report, which was released this spring following a year-long review of Harvard’s mental health resources.

The report, citing a need to better coordinate the various offices charged with the mental health of Harvard students, called for the creation of a position with oversight of both the Bureau and University Health Services (UHS) Mental Health Services.

In May, Student Mental Health Task Force Chair Dr. Paul J. Barreira was tapped to take the new job, gaining responsibility for all of Harvard’s mental health resources.

Barreira took officially took on the role on July 1, the day Ducey’s departure was to take formal effect.

The lack of enthusiasm for the change—evinced by a letter of protest from 11 Bureau counselors released last March—lends Ducey’s exit an air of mystery, although colleagues and administrators say he left amicably and of his own will.

“As far as I know it was a genial exit,” said UHS Director David S. Rosenthal ’59. “He’s been there for a long time, almost 20 years. I think he wants to do some writing and private practice.”

The report suggested that the different visions of mental health services offered by the Bureau and UHS, and the blurred division of responsibility and oversight had led to an overlap in services while others were being neglected.

While UHS provides clinical mental health services and has been envisioned as a resource for students with more urgent needs, the Bureau is a more informal setting for non-clinical counseling, a resource for students seeking help for issues ranging from focus problems to less serious cases of depression.

The Bureau was singled out in the report as needing to redefine and focus its function on campus. University Provost Steven E. Hyman said this spring the Bureau was experiencing “mission creep” as it began to extend itself beWhile the report did not call for the reorganization of the Bureau itself, Ducey’s departure has left the future of the Bureau’s administrative structure up in the air, despite reassurances that the basic structure of the Bureau will remain unchanged.

And as for whether Ducey’s former post would be filled, reconsidered or abolished altogether under the new leadership, Rosenthal said the decision was Barreira’s.

“I think Dr. Barreira will play a role in determining what will happen to that position and thinking about what he wants in that role,” Rosenthal said. “It will be up to him to decide what to go there.”

Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71 declined to comment on Ducey’s departure, but said he expected that the search for a replacement would begin this fall.

Assistant Dean of the College John T. O’Keefe also declined to comment, but confirmed Gross’ thoughts on the future of the position.

“My understanding is that there will be a new appointment for that position eventually—although not before September—since the Bureau is still going to retain its own identity,” O’Keefe wrote in an e-mail.

Ducey’s sudden and muted departure comes amid concerns from Bureau employees that the organization’s mission would be undermined by a new structure. These complaints were voiced in the March letter from 11 full-time Bureau counselors.

“If the Bureau is subsumed within a medical system, its distinct niche within the community will disappear, and before long, the Bureau and its educational niche will disappear with it,” the letter stated. “While the Bureau may remain in name and address, its distinctive nature and role will inevitably cease to exist.”

In April, Sally T. Weylman, a counselor at the Bureau who left her post in May, said her departure was motivated by concern for the future of the Bureau, which she said would flounder under the oversight of UHS.

Ducey, who did not sign the letter and would not comment on Weylman’s departure, has remained silent through much of the reorganization process, and left his post without fanfare.

Ducey’s departure was briefly noted on the Faculty of Arts and Sciences website last week.

The press release said that Ducey left his post of 18 years for “professional and personal reasons,” and noted that he was expected to continue teaching at the Extension School and the Graduate School of Education, in addition to taking up private practice in the Cambridge area.

Associate Dean of the College Thomas A. Dingman ’67 said Ducey’s departure was “a surprise.”

“I don’t know what the direct reasons were for [Ducey’s] leaving,” he said.

Dingman said he was aware the reorganization of the offices might mean some personnel shuffling.

“There’s been talk of greater coordination and steps that had been taken,” Dingman said. “I think there will be sort of an ongoing look at how services are organized.”

Rosenthal said that in his first weeks at his new post, Barreira has been working with Bureau, College and UHS staffers to determine the structure of the two organizations and work out the kinks of his leadership.

“One thing [Barreira] will be doing is looking at the needs of the Bureau and the college,” Rosenthal said, noting that Barreira was working on setting up an office staff of his own, with help from the Bureau.

Neither Ducey nor Barreira could be reached for comment for this article.

“I think what the Bureau has been and will continue to be is a very comforting entryway for students who need counseling and guidance, who are having adjustment issues,” Rosenthal said. “This has been a very highly appreciated service by the students…Dr. Barreira is very interested in seeing that this continues.”

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