Wanted: Tough but Tactful Dean

On Friday, Dean of the Faculty William C. Kirby resigned from his administrative post, a decision that surprised few within the College. Kirby’s tenure has been dogged by rumors of a strained relationship with his boss, University President Lawrence H. Summers, and, as of late, that Summers had plans to remove Kirby from his position. According to a source who spoke to The Harvard Crimson, the announcement had been in the works since last winter, and Summers was just waiting for a “tenable” moment.

The longstanding rift between the two men is reportedly the result of a clash of styles—Summers’ blunt approach grated against Kirby’s more soft-spoken manner. Yet a working relationship between the dean of the Faculty and the president is pivotal to the dean’s ability to act as an intermediary between the Faculty and Massachusetts Hall. Their personal dispute came to a head last year over Summers’ intervention in the Harvard College Curricular Review (HCCR)— of which Kirby was chair—a move that many in the Faculty felt overstepped the president’s role.

Over the next four months however, Summers’ search for a replacement should not focus solely on finding a comforting yes-man. As a liaison between the president and the Faculty at large , the dean needs to forcefully represent the views of the Faculty and maintain a strong relationship with the president. And when policy disagreements arise between Summers and the new dean—as they surely will—the dean should not hesitate to firmly stand his or her ground. He or she must not be seen as a mere executor of the president’s wishes. Luckily, Summers’ reputation for favoring intelligent argument among his advisors means that a working relationship and a strong Faculty leader need not be mutually exclusive.

Furthermore, the upcoming consultation with professors over a replacement should not serve simply as lip service to Faculty members, many of whom remain disillusioned with the president since the row over his remarks on women in science last January. Although the ultimate decision rests with Summers, the Faculty’s input is invaluable in choosing its representative to the rest of the University.

Since the new dean will assume responsibility for the recently completed HCCR, the Faculty’s votes on it should be delayed in the interim. The Faculty is scheduled to hold the final vote on the three-year project this spring, although Kirby’s departure does put its future somewhat in doubt. Thus, despite the possible advantages of forging ahead with much needed curricular changes, we believe that binding a new dean to Kirby’s program—one that has sustained criticism from within the University and from national media—would have negative effects in the long-term.

Moreover, continuing immediately with the HCCR will pose a substantial problem in the hunt for Kirby’s successor. If the Faculty casts a vote on the HCCR this spring and the new curriculum passes—which is expected—the pool of potential candidates will be greatly and unfairly reduced. Any possible candidate who does not support the current incarnation of the HCCR would struggle to lead the College into its new academic frontier, and the dean of the Faculty must take on this role if the curricular review is to succeed. Additionally, the next dean, whose tenure will likely be defined by the accomplishments of a new curriculum, should not be burdened with even the possibility of implementing Kirby’s program. Changing the decrepit Core program is necessary and should be completed with all due speed, but the new dean of the Faculty needs independence and control over the important alterations.

Despite a tenure of only four years, Kirby leaves his post having made a lasting impact on the College. Under his term, the size of the Faculty has increased by 8 percent, with plans for an additional 9 percent increase by 2010. The curricular review, despite its remaining problems, has proposed much-needed changes to Harvard’s undergraduate education. We acknowledge Kirby’s role in effecting these generally successful initiatives, and we hope that the new dean will continue to improve this platform.