Turning the Mirror

“I can’t imagine the House functioning without us,” assistant to the Adams House resident dean Otto F. Coontz remarked after hearing about the mandated 25-percent cuts to House budgets that might put his and similar positions at risk. His concern is warranted. A strong House life and academic support network are essential components of the Harvard undergraduate experience, helping to foster for students an environment of both intellectual and personal growth. FAS should not be making budget cuts that seriously endanger this core element of undergraduate life. Rather, the burgeoning administration, which has seen a staggering expansion in recent years, must take a fair share of the budget cuts and look to consolidate. We realize cuts will be felt across the board—but it would be a shame if they weren’t felt at all in the Harvard boardrooms.

Over the past 10 years, FAS has added 230 administrative staffers to its payroll, while Houses have kept their staff size steady over the same time period. Central administrators thus need to look inward for cuts. The administration’s main role should be to support the faculty and students here in pursuing their educational and developmental goals. The administration should find savings at its own expense before endangering areas that have a direct and serious effect on the lives of students—like academics and House life. Specifically, given its recent rapid growth, the administration must strongly consider salary cuts and firings as a cost-saving and efficiency measure.

Most importantly, the academic mission of the College should be its priority during budget cut season. The news that section sizes will increase next year as fewer TFs are hired is disconcerting to every Harvard student who knows that much of the learning at Harvard takes place in section. This personalized learning environment of a section is lost when students become just another head in the crowd. An 18-student section is already too large to allow for desired personal attention and opportunities for discussion, and thus 18 should certainly not be the lower limit on section sizes. As a possible remedy to these cuts, professors should look into teaching or attending sections to supplement the experience, as a few excellent teachers already do.

The assistant position to the Allston Burr resident dean, which currently exists for each of the 12 Houses, is also in jeopardy. According to House administrators, plans exist to scale back this position into a 10-month job or to consolidate the office so that one assistant provides support to multiple Houses. This assistant provides counseling and advising services, sends letters of recommendations to graduate programs for students, and maintains House alumni files. A scaling back of these services would certainly have a large impact on students and their Housing experience.

Administrative consolidations could offset such severe cuts to House life, which are worrisome and misguided and will cause major problems for both the House staff and students. This is not to say that the specific proposals above are entirely unjustifiable—simply that the community spirit and nurturing environment created by House life, should not be lost to budget cuts—especially if these cuts are meant to spare the bureaucratic central administration’s jobs and salaries.

When administrators move to the next round of cuts and speak of “department reshaping,” they must remember that academic life is the essential purpose of a university, and cuts that damage the educational experience should be made as a last resort only, especially when there is an expensive administrative personnel budget that has not yet been touched. Preserving faculty and course offerings in order to preserve the student experience should be our top priority. The administration is undoubtedly extremely important to the functioning of this school, but as a priority it is not on par with the faculty—as seems to be the mindset that has developed.

Many smart budget cuts have been made, including those to unnecessary travel and consulting expenses. Yet, as administrators review these recent cuts and look toward making more in the future, they must ensure that the core functions of both House life and academic life are not seriously harmed. Given the administration’s rapid expansion in recent years, they must look internally for savings, even if this means difficult firings or adjustments.