SOCH Manager Moves to University Hall

Student Organizations Center at Hilles Manager David R. Friedrich has been named Assistant Dean of Harvard College and Director of the Student Activities Office, Dean of the College Evelynn M. Hammonds announced yesterday.

In his new role, Friedrich will be responsible for supporting and overseeing the College’s student organizations. This will include ensuring that clubs are apprised of the College’s rules and regulations, making certain that organizations re-register each year, and helping groups manage and develop their financial resources.

Friedrich assumes a post similar to the one formerly held by Paul J. McLoughlin II, who was promoted to the position of Assistant Dean of Harvard College and Senior Aide to the Dean of Harvard College last September.

A graduate of Gordon College, Friedrich came to Harvard in 2006 to serve as the founding manager of the SOCH.

“The nice thing about David is that he has already worked so extensively with student organizations,” said McLoughlin, who supervised Friedrich during his tenure as assistant dean of the college in the Office of Student Life and Activities. “He has already proven that he knows how student organizations work at the College.”

Friedrich said his highest priority in his new role would be to increase the opportunities the Student Activities Office provides student group leaders to participate in trainings and workshops to enhance their leadership abilities.

He said he also plans to work on improving communication between student groups and providing campus organizations with a more central place from which to gather information pertinent to their needs.

“I’ve really enjoyed working at Harvard and working with the student organizations that have been using the SOCH and to be able to continue that,” Friedrich said. “To do it in a broader way is something that is really exciting to me.”

According to McLoughlin, Friedrich was selected in a process that included interviews with a search committee, a group of student organization leaders, Hammonds, McLoughlin, and Associate Dean of the College Judith H. Kidd, who will oversee Friedrich’s work.

McLoughlin said that Friedrich was the “strongest finalist” among the group considered and added that during Friedrich’s tenure managing the SOCH, “we never received one complaint in the College from a student group or student who worked with him.”

This is not Friedrich’s first time overseeing a college’s student organizations. Before coming to Harvard, he served as the Director of Student Activities at Endicott College in Beverly, Mass.

“I find that it’s a really dynamic environment working with students, and I am excited about working hard to find ways to help them develop personally and professionally,” Friedrich said.

—Staff writer Lauren D. Kiel can be reached at lkiel@fas.harvard.edu.