Harvard To Merge Allston Development Group and Univ. Planning Office

As part of an ongoing organizational review of the central administration, the functions of the Allston Development Group and the University Planning Office will be integrated into a new department of Capital Planning and Project Management, Executive Vice President Katherine N. Lapp announced today.

The University has begun an "accelerated, targeted, national search" for a vice president to lead the new organization, which will unify the campus planning, capital planning, and project management responsibilities of ADG and UPO. The new vice president will collaborate closely with Lapp and other units across campus planning and project management, according to Lapp.

"This does not represent a change in focus concerning our development work in Boston or Cambridge," Lapp wrote in a statement, adding that she will continue to oversee the progress in Allston directly as well as work on departments within the central administration. "These groups are all part and parcel of our integrated approach to property stewardship, leasing, greening, and campus development."

The creation of the Capital Planning and Project Management organization represents yet another move toward reorganizing the coordination and efficiency of University departments. The first step, Lapp said, was the April appointment of Lisa Hogarty to the newly refashioned position of Vice President for Campus Services.

"I believe that this new organizational structure will improve our capital planning functions upholding our standards of excellence and commitment to efficiency of delivery as we strive to respond to academic needs and opportunities, while doing so in a way that supports our surrounding communities and neighbors," Lapp wrote.

The news of the pending consolidation of University offices comes on the heels of Christopher M. Gordon's announcement earlier this month that he would resign from his post as chief operating officer of the Allston Development Group, due to the halt on construction of Harvard's Allston campus.

University President Drew G. Faust announced in December that the University would be halting construction of its $1 billion Allston Science Complex, the centerpiece of Harvard's planned 50-year expansion into Allston, due to financial troubles.

—Staff writer Xi Yu can be reached at xyu@college.harvard.edu.