Harvard University - Red Book Yearbook (Cambridge, MA)

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University Hall is a Network of Deans For all Freshmen the cold, grey stone walls ofUniversity Hall house something between the Lords of Creation and an awesome Inquisition weighing the Chosen and the Damned. With a copy of the student's record complete to the last D minus before him, and with a network of secretaries, other Officers and SL1l3-OiTlCCl'S, Administrative Boards and Corpo- ration votes behind him, the dean was the invariable victor in any battle of wits, bluff, or force with the undergraduates. Since it was necessary for everyone to see a dean before leaving Cambridge for the service, this terror was calmed at an early date for most members of the Class of '46. As soon as it was discovered the deans were reasonably human some few even went to them for help. But not many perceived the complex organization of the Dean's Ofh ce. The Hierarchy The three king-pins of University Hall are, in order of rank, the Provost, the Dean of the College, and the Dean of Freshman. Presiding over faculty meetings on the second floor of University Hall is Pulitzer Prize winning historian Paul H. Buck. As Provost he runs interference for President Conant, has general authority over the whole University. More closely connected with the undergraduate is Wilbur Bender, Dean of the College. He took over this job when A. Chester Hanford retired in 1947. Dean Hanford held the post even longer than the legendary Dean Briggs. On most matters concerning students and their affairs, Dean Bender's word is final. Delmar Leighton, whose offices are on the top floor of University Hall, is the Dean of Freshmen. Assisting these three men is a miniature bureaucracy of lesser or baby deans. These men spend all their time interviewing students and performing various services for worried undergraduates. They will deal with angry civil authorities, listen to all kinds of complaints, try to solve any kind of problem. These Assistant Deans only spend a few years in University Hall, are then either moved up or moved out. Since the Class of '46 has been in College there has been Professor Hanford is now back at his old job in the Government Department. He was the College's Dean for twenty years. ' ' -1 . -,vs-nv i Willnur Bender, formerly Counsellor for Veterans, succeeded Chester Hanford as Dean of Harvard College in 1947. a tremendous turnover in the Dean's staff. Sometimes the Deans did not last much longer than the students. The Procedure Meeting together each Tuesday morning, the Chapter fthe Deans and their assistantsj go over current undergraduate problems. The procedure is usually informal, although in close cases a vote is taken. Unsolved problems are presented in the afternoon to the Administrative Board chaired by Dean Provost Paul Buck is second in command to Conant, is also Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. 3-mi I .Kr N' x -.,,

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1-'4 dv' Harvard's 297th Commencement Procession headed by President Conant, Provost Buck, and the Corporation. The Corporation meets twice a month in Massachusetts Hall, the University's oldest surviving building C1720j. QLLWQ David Bailey, Secretary to the Corporation and the Board of Overseers, frwzlvrj The Corporation, left to right, Henry L. Shattuck, Gren- The Corporation Makes University Policy Ever since President Dunster got the General Court to issue its charter in 1650, the Harvard Corporation has been the central governing board of the University. The oldest corpo- ration in the U. S. existing under its original charter, it is a self-perpetuating body of seven men: the President, Treasurer, and five Fellows. When Harvard was still a small colonial College, the Corporation found time to regulate the length of students' hair, to inventory kitchen equipment, and to persuade reluctant biddies to return to work. With the expansion of the Uni- versity, the Corporation has had to delegate many of its ad- ministrative responsibilities and to devote itself mainly to making general University policy. However it still passes on all budgets, makes all appointments on the basis of the recom- mendations of the Departments, and votes all degrees. Honorary Keeper of the Records Since the Class of '46 entered Harvard, there have been several new faces at Corporation meetings. William Marbury was appointed to fill the vacancy left by Henryjames' death in 1947. Marbury, a Law School alumnus and a resident of Baltimore, is the only Corporation member who is not a graduate of Harvard College. Paul C. Cabot succeeded William H. Claflin as Treasurer in 1948. The late A. Calvert Smith replaced Jerome D. Greene as Secretary to Corporation in 1945 when Greene retired to the post of Honorary Keeper of the Corporation Records. Upon Smith s death in 1945, David Bailey took over the Secretary's job. All of the present Fellows except Marbury live in or near Boston and four of the seven are lawyers. The University's other governing body, the Board of Overseers is now largely an honorary group elected by the alumni, although technically it has reviewing power over many acts of the Corporation. ville Clark, the late Henry james, President Conant, former Secretary Jerome D. Greene, Charles A. Coolidge, jr., Roger I. Lee, and former Treasurer William H. Claflin, jr., fright, Dr. David Little, Secretary to the University.

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Robert Watson, as Associate Dean, handles the complaints of the extra-curricular organizations against the powers or policies that be. Bender, while Dean Leighton and five or six other elected Faculty members form the rest of the body. Although the power of decision rests with the Administrative Board, the recommendation of the Dean presenting the matter is almost always followed. To take the matter to the Administrative Board is an elaborate way of passing the buck. fTeddy Roosevelt would have called the whole setup an interlocking directorate, which it admittedly is. It exists, however, for useful and benevolent ends.j Five Million Books Also housed in University Hall are a host of other ad- ministrative officers: Registrar Sargent Kennedy who suc- ceeded Reginald H. Phelps, Associate Dean Robert Watson, Director of Scholarships F. Skiddy von Stade who replaced Henry S. Dyer, now Director of the Ofii ce of Tests, and Richard The Deans in 1948. In the usual order, james Ducey, Assistant Registrar, Judson Shaplin, Dan H. Fenn, jr., Sargent Kennedy, The Director of Scholarships, F. Skiddy von Stade, jr. adminis- ters a yearly undergraduate scholarship fund of 3534o,o0o. M. Gummere, Chairman of the Committee on Admissions. The College hierarchy now spreads into Weld Hall and housed there are john Munro, Counsellor for Veterans, john Teele, Director of the newly formed Ofiice of Student Placementg William Pinkerton, Director of the University News Ofiice- there is no such thing as a Publicity Office, and john Holt, now Director of the Ofiice of Student Employment, replacing Charles Duhig. Other administrative officers who frequently come in contact with the students are Captainjohn Keppler, now Counsellor for Foreign Students and William G. Perry, Director of the Bureau of Study Counsel. University Hall, important though it is, is only part of the administration. Keyes DeWitt Metcalf, Librarian of Harvard University, is ultimately responsible for the where- abouts of five million books and pamphlets housed in some Registrar, Delmar Leighton, Wilbur Bender, Otis Minot, Ross Borden, Robert Sides, and Norman Harrower, jr., Wallace McDonald replaced Minot in 1948. v 5 .