Kidd and Fun Czarina Sparkle as Guest Bartenders at Queen’s Head Pub

After a long week of work, Associate Dean of the College Judith H. Kidd donned a multicolored sequin wrap to serve beer and chicken fingers at the Cambridge Queen’s Head Pub in Loker Commons last Friday.

Wearing matching sparkling outfits, Kidd and fun czarina Haining Gouinlock ’07 manned the bar in an effort to increase interest in the Pub over Junior Parents Weekend.

Kidd said she once worked as a waitress, but this was her first time bartending. With an attention to detail, she made sure to deliver quality service. “Is this too much foam?” she asked while pouring a glass of Harpoon beer.

Although Kidd demonstrated painstaking technique while serving up beers, she said that she generally prefers a glass of sauvignon blanc to a cup of brew.

Former Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71, who is scheduled to take a shift at the Pub in a few weeks, came to “see how it’s done.”

As Kidd took a brief break from her bar duties, Gross jokingly asked, “Aren’t you supposed to be behind the bar?”

Pub Manager Scott C. Smider ’01 only had praise for Kidd’s and Gouinlock’s skills at the bar.

“They’re experts,” he said. “Look at those smiles—do you see anyone looking discontent?”

Few undergraduates showed up for the five o’clock event, which was mostly attended by administrators and Harvard Law School students.

Approximately 30 Law School students were at the Pub, although many admitted that they did not realize that a dean of the College was serving them their drinks. When informed of Dean Kidd’s efforts, Harvard Law School student Vera Ranieri joked about her own dean.

“We really hope Dean Kagan takes this as an example and follows suit,” Ranieri said.

According to Ranieri, a trip to the Pub is not out of the ordinary for Law School students. Many of the students who gathered in the Pub were taking part in a “section activity.”

Several administrators present praised Dean Kidd’s beer-serving abilities. Paul J. McLoughlin II, assistant dean of Harvard College, and Robert G. Doyle, interim associate dean of Harvard College, agreed that Kidd was an expert.

“She’s been practicing for years,” Doyle said.

McLoughlin, who tended the bar last week, braved a bout of the flu to come to the event.

“She’s so much better,” he said. “She taught me everything that I know.”

Smider hopes to follow Kidd’s performance with another similar late-night session to attract more undergraduates. According to Smider, it is up to the students to reach out to professors that they want to see behind the bar.

Gross, who stayed to mingle with Pub patrons, seemed satisfied with the service.

“Dean Kidd in sequins is something I always wanted to see,” he said.

—Staff writer Arianna Markel can be reached at amarkel@fas.harvard.edu.
—Staff writer Sue Lin can be reached at suelin@fas.harvard.edu.