Harvard to Shutter Dudley Community After More Than 90 Years

Harvard College will shutter the Dudley Community, ending an institution founded more than 90 years ago to provide advising and a social home for generations of undergraduates living outside the House system, Dean of Students Thomas G. Dunne wrote in a Wednesday afternoon email to Dudley students.

The change, part of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ ongoing restructuring, will end Dudley’s role as a separate undergraduate community later this month and transfer its students into the House System.

Students and resident tutors assigned to the Dudley Co-Op this fall will be able to remain there through the end of the 2026-27 academic year, Dunne wrote. The College did not specify what will happen to the co-op after the academic year, saying that more details would be provided closer to the start of the fall semester.

In his email, Dunne characterized the closure as one of the “difficult decisions” the College has made about its “staffing and structure.” He added that the decision did not reflect problems within Dudley itself.

“This decision is not a reflection on the value of Dudley, the quality of its programs, or the dedication of the people who have sustained it over the years,” Dunne wrote.

Based on figures published by Harvard, the change could affect roughly 250 students, including about 150 off-campus undergraduates, 32 Dudley Co-Op residents, and about 65 visiting undergraduates.

Students who transferred into Dudley from a House will have their previous House affiliations restored and begin receiving support from that House’s tutors and deans, according to Dunne. They will also be able to participate in House events and access House facilities even if they continue living off-campus.

Transfer students who joined Dudley immediately after entering the College will be assigned to a House, Dunne wrote.

He added that students would benefit from being integrated into the House system.

“House communities offer sustained relationships, physical resources, opportunities for mentorship and connection, and assistance navigating both academic and personal questions,” he wrote. “Students will also benefit from being part of a House that accompanies them throughout their remaining time at Harvard and connects them with a wider network of classmates and alumni.”

Dudley was established in 1935 by Allston Burr, then a member of the Harvard Board of Overseers, as a center for undergraduates who lived off campus. At the time, commuters made up more than 10 percent of the student body.

The Dudley Co-Op was founded in 1958. Its residents share responsibility for cooking, cleaning, and managing the co-op. Over the years, as Dudley moved from Dudley Hall on Dunster Street to Lehman Hall and added co-op spaces on Sacramento Street and Massachusetts Avenue, its focus also shifted.

In recent years, the undergraduate Dudley Community has served students living off campus, residents of the Dudley Co-Op, transfer students, centers, and participants in the Visiting Undergraduate Students program.

The announcement comes amid a sweeping FAS restructuring that has led to layoffs and administrative changes across the school. College staff largely avoided the earliest rounds of cuts before roughly 13 percent were laid off last week in the restructuring’s largest wave yet.

Dunne acknowledged that ending Dudley’s independent role would be difficult for members of the community.

“Dudley’s legacy resides in the relationships it has fostered, and in the many students it has helped flourish at Harvard,” he wrote.

“Although the structure of this support will change, Dudley’s history and contributions will remain an important part of Harvard College,” Dunne added.

—Staff writer Sebastian B. Connolly can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at sbc.23. Follow him on X @SebastianC4784.

—Staff writer Summer E. Rose can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at ser.85. Follow her on X @summerellenrose.