Reverend Gomes Prepares For 2012 Departure

The Reverend Peter J. Gomes’ study is the essence of old Harvard: dimly lit, the room is an optical tangle of varied fabrics and award ribbons, anonymous busts along the walls, and countless books. The den of earthy colors lies in the depth of a building Gomes has called home since 1974.

But perhaps not for long. The Plummer Professor of Christian Morals is now in his 40th year at Harvard and anticipating his 68th birthday. Gomes chuckled as he reflected on the days when he had “mojo” in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. He is in preparation for the denouement of his tenure at the University.

Gomes said that he had always planned to retire once reaching the age of 70—and he will reach that benchmark in time to retire in 2012. Fortuitously, Gomes’ desired time for departure corresponds neatly with a retirement plan for faculty announced in early December.

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the Divinity School—with which Gomes is affiliated—were among the five Harvard schools that announced last year the first retirement plan for faculty since federal law did away with mandatory retirement in 1994.

At the time of the announcement, administrators said that the plan—which offers one-, three-, and four-year plans—would serve the needs of ageing faculty, as well as provide a flexible method of controlling the size of the faculty.

Gomes said that he does not yet know whether he will accept the package—but he is certainly considering the option: “I’m keeping all my options open,” he said yesterday.

Gomes, who underwent heart pacemaker surgery in October, said he still has a legacy to build in the years he has left at Harvard. He said that he is in the best position to garner funding for the renovation of Memorial Church—an edifice that Gomes deeply associates with his time at the University.

Gomes views himself as an upholder of “one of these ancient institutions of mother Harvard,” said Scott H. Dickison, a former student of Gomes at the Divinity school. “So much of what it is today, it is because of him.”

Since Gomes’ arrival on campus in 1970, the religious climate at Harvard has seen significant changes. When Harvard stopped requiring students to attend chapel daily in 1886, the University earned the moniker “Godless Harvard” from counterparts Yale and Princeton Universities. Yale stopped the requirement in 1926, while Princeton ceased the practice in 1960.

The notion of a “Godless” campus persisted even when Gomes arrived less than a century later. But now Gomes said that the religious communities on campus are decidedly more active than they had been in previous decades.

“Increasingly, [I see] religious people who aren’t ashamed,” Gomes said. “There is a sense that religion may have an answer or two that we haven’t figured out yet.”

Gomes affirmed the rumors that he has been working on his memoir. Smiling at the idea, the author of two best-selling theology books said that he has tried his hand at autobiographical writing but ultimately decided to wait until he leaves Harvard.

“If you’re too candid while you’re still in service—well, you can get in a lot of trouble,” said Gomes, a consistent presence at Faculty meetings who has garnered a reputation for speaking his mind.

But reticence may not be the only virtue holding him back from pursuing an autobiographical project: “I haven’t figured out the genius of organizing it yet,” Gomes said, adding that 67 years have afforded him a bevy of experiences—swearing in Presidents Ronald W. Reagan and George H.W. Bush, no less—that would intensify the challenge of documenting his life.

Gomes—who has until June 30 to accept or decline the package—is just one example among professors throughout FAS who are eligible for the retirement plan. But Gomes said that he won’t be bought off the pulpit that easily.

“You give your life to Harvard,” he said of the days when he first took the position. He added that he has maintained a long-term vision of his service to Harvard.

“People are here for the work. I don’t think it’s going to be a brain drain,” Gomes said. “To try to buy out the faculty is a very costly measure. I’ll wait till my time comes.”

—Staff writer Noah S. Rayman can be reached at nrayman@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Elyssa A.L. Spitzer can be reached at spitzer@fas.harvard.edu.