Khurana Approval Rating Among Surveyed Seniors Rises to 55 Percent

Fifty-five percent of surveyed graduating seniors said they had favorable opinions of Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana, marking a rise from his historically low approval rating of 42 percent last year.

The senior survey—conducted annually by The Crimson—showed that 32 percent of respondents in the Class of 2018 said they had unfavorable opinions of Khurana, 11 percent said they had no opinion, and the remaining students said they did not have enough information to respond. Of the more than 1600 graduating seniors, 704 responded to the survey.

Khurana, who has largely become the face of the College’s controversial social group policy, has remained firm in his support for the penalties as the College has rolled out an implementation plan for the sanctions this year. Last spring, when Khurana garnered his lowest favorability rating to date, the sanctions' final form was still in flux and many students said they objected to the policy.

The sanctions, which took effect with the Class of 2021, bar members of single-gender final clubs and Greek organizations from holding campus leadership positions and varsity athletic team captaincies, and from receiving College endorsement for certain prestigious fellowships.

In March, the College announced a long-awaited enforcement plan for the sanctions. Earlier this month, the College debuted a three-tier system for determining the privileges that recognized social groups can earn and the requirements they must fulfill to avoid being penalized.

In an interview Thursday, Khurana said he wants students to understand that every choice he makes as dean is intended to “create a better experience" for them.

“I know there are things that people don’t necessarily agree on but I always respect people who have different points of view and perspectives on this,” Khurana said.

Khurana declined to speculate on what contributed to his higher approval rating this year.

“I just want students to know how much everybody cares about them here,” he said. “I know the College, with all of its challenges and imperfections, is committed to becoming and being a place where anybody who comes from whatever background can feel like they can flourish.”

Khurana’s approval rates were lower among respondents who identified themselves as members of single-gender social groups than those who did not. In total, 35 percent of respondents in single-gender social groups had a favorable opinion of Khurana, while 65 percent of respondents not in one of these groups said they approved of him.

The percentage of survey respondents who said they approve of Khurana was slightly higher than the percentage of respondents who said they have a favorable opinions of the College’s sanctions. In all, 40 percent of respondents said they have favorable opinions of the policy, 46 percent said they have unfavorable opinions, and 11 percent said they have no opinion. The remaining respondents said they did not have enough information to form an opinion.

Khurana’s favorability with the Class of 2018, though up from last year, is still markedly lower than the ratings from the Classes of 2016 and 2015. In 2016, 62 percent of surveyed seniors indicated a favorable view of Khurana, and, in 2015, 82 percent of surveyed seniors said they viewed Khurana favorably.

Khurana assumed his current role as dean of the College in July 2014. He is a professor of organizational behavior at the Business School and a faculty dean of Cabot House.

This year’s version of The Crimson’s survey, sent to every senior via email, was open from May 1 to May 12 and was anonymous. The Crimson did not adjust data collected for possible self-selection bias.

—Staff writer Caroline S. Engelmayer can be reached at caroline.engelmayer@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @cengelmayer13.