Jones Resigns as GSAS Dean; Wilcox Named Acting Dean

R. Victor Jones, McKay Professor of Applied physics, resigned Wednesday as dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences after a year of graduate school controversy concerning financial aid to teaching fellows.

The University has named Edward T. Wilcox, currently director of the Program of General Education, as acting dean of the GSAS until a permanent dean is appointed.

Jones's resignation came as a surprise after only a year of his five-year appointment as dean. During that year. Jones had become embroiled in a controversy with the newly-formed Graduate Student and Teaching Fellow Union over abolition of a special tuition program for teaching fellows.

Asked Saturday if his involvement in the tuition abatement issue to leave the Administration and return to teaching, Jones said "I think my reasons are obvious to anyone." He said that the financial and controversy "certainly did not make it any easier" for him to function effectively.

"It is exceedingly important to Harvard that there be a healthy Graduate School of Arts and Sciences with good student morale, something we obviously don't have now," Jones said:

The graduate students union steering committee have not yet met to take an official position on Jones's resignation. Mary Jo Henry commenting officially.

Henry said however that most committee members who knew of the change assumed that Jones's policies would continue. "It's too bad that policies aren't going to change instead of the dean," she added. Wilcox declined to comment on his position on the issue.

Dean Dunlop said yesterday that he had first heard of Jones's decision in a letter during the summer and that he had tried to persuade Jones to stay on in the post. "After Lahor Day his decision was still the same, so we decided to go forward with it." Dunlop said.

In resigning the post, Jones also vacated the position of associate dean of the Faculty for Undergraduate Education. The Faculty Council decided not to replace Jones immediately as associate dean of the Faculty became Dunlop said it wanted to reevaluate the administrative organization of the graduate school. "It will not necessarily be true now that the two posts of dean of the CSAS and associate dean of the Faculty will be held by one man," Dunlop said.

He suggested that the situates in the College, where Dean whitlock is senior administrator and Robert J. Kiely professor of English, is the newly appointed associate dean of Un