Expos Director Exits

Neil N. Sosland ’52 returned to Cambridge in June to celebrate his 55th reunion. A journalist who helps lead the family publishing business, Sosland remembers a time when he wasn’t a confident writer.

“There were papers,” Sosland said recently, “when professors gave you a funny look, ‘Is this the way a Harvard man writes?’ ”

The Sosland family decided to do something about those funny looks for all Harvard men and women, giving millions in the 1990s to help kick-start the Expository Writing (Expos) program at Harvard.

With the sudden departure last month of Expos director Nancy Sommers, however, the future of the landmark program—the only class required of all Harvard undergraduates—is uncertain.

In late July, Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71 said that Sommers would be heading “on leave” for the coming academic year, and he appointed Thomas R. Jehn, a writing instructor at Harvard since 1997, to be interim director.

In an interview, however, Sommers said that she does not plan to return to Expos, where she served as director for 13 years and an instructor for two decades. She refused to discuss what caused her to leave the program, saying only that she would eventually return to Harvard.

“It is an honor to be the director of the oldest writing program in America, and I've always believed that I have a responsibility to preserve the distinguished history of the program, while, at the same time, creating a new one,” Sommers said. “It’s been a great ride.”

Jehn remains optimistic about the future of Expos. He outlined broad plans in a written statement to The Crimson, saying that Expos will increase its connection to departments and other programs at the University. He said he believes that the program’s place in the undergraduate curriculum is healthy.

“I’ve heard nothing but respect of and support for Expos from the College administration. Every dean I’ve spoken with has expressed enthusiasm for the work we do,” Jehn said in the statement.

In communications with Expos instructors, known as preceptors, Jehn appeared less confident. In an Aug. 8 message obtained by The Crimson, he attempted to reassure instructors, saying that administrators would meet with them in September to "dispel any rumors of massive re-structuring" of Expos.

Jehn also told instructors to avoid discussing the program or its leadership change with The Crimson so that he could help convey “that the program is stable.”

“I have to say up front that I'm cringing as I write this part of the e-mail because I'm not at all comfortable with the impression I may be trying to control anyone's speech or with any implication that I don't trust everyone to act in the program's best interests,” he wrote. “I just want all of us in Expos to be able to get on with the interesting projects and jobs we want to do without the static or rumors that could hamper our work.”

Expos instructors contacted by The Crimson declined or did not return requests for comment. Gross did not respond to a request for comment, and his successor as College dean, David R. Pilbeam, declined to comment.

DRAFTING THE COURSE

Sommers described Expos as the “model and envy of other writing programs.” Indeed, Duke once tried to lure her away to Durham and Princeton’s director, Kerry Walk, is a former Expos instructor and Sommers protégé.

Sommers has emphasized her work researching the process of writing and notes proudly that there are 600 pounds of student essays from the Class of 2001 stored away in the archives, forever available for future investigation.

Former Harvard President Derek C. Bok relied on Sommers’ research in his recent book, “Our Underachieving Colleges,” to discuss undergraduate writing and communication.

In 2006, however, the Committee to Review the Teaching of Writing and Speaking praised Expos but described its ultimate achievements as insufficient: “Current practices of teaching and writing evince strengths but the overall result is inadequate,” the authors of the report wrote.

Sommers was lauded for “active leadership,” but her program was described as “isolated” from the rest of the College, its administrators, and curriculum.

Sosland, the Expos donor, praised Sommers’ leadership. “She is or was considered by the very highest people at Harvard as an academic expert,” he said.

Only a few weeks before Gross’s announcement, Sosland visited with Sommers while in Cambridge. She never mentioned that she planned to leave the program, Sosland said.

Students remember Sommers as a teacher who reviewed drafts meticulously, returning notes in different colors of ink from multiple readings. This fall, she brought English professor and New Yorker critic James Wood into her classroom to discuss the works of author Joan Didion and invited an acting coach to teach public speaking.

“We joked that it was like boot camp,” Joseph P. Shivers ’10, a member of Sommers’ “The Art of the Essay” Expos 20 class, said. “Everybody in the class came out better writers.”

Christine M. Baugh ’10, another student of Sommers, agreed.

“It’ll be sad to see her go,” Baugh said. “I’m sure the Expos department will fill her shoes. The main thing that I took away from the semester was that Expos doesn’t have to be terrible. It was, for me, wonderful.”

—Staff writer Samuel P. Jacobs can be reached at jacobs@fas.harvard.edu.