"This is a job on top of everything else," saysForsgard, who is also deputy director of academicprograms at the School of Public Health. The position, masters say, is built for two.Many find themselves with their hands, full,juggling the House, their careers and family. It's a more connecting sort ofprofessional activity."
#Master of my domain saying professional#
"It is a professional activity that we canshare," Ware says of the opportunity to work withhis wife, Janice. Many of the masters' spouses also maintainoccupations outside their capacities as Houseco-masters. "It's a commitmentto access, a job that's not so rigidly definedthat our functions must be developed in anycertain way." "We tremendously underestimated the time andwork involved," McCarthy says. McCarthy, who joined the ranks of House mastersin 1996, says he and his wife Sue did notanticipate the extraordinary demands placed ontheir heads. Youhave to pace yourself to be a long-term master."
"What's important is to prioritize.Masters can get burned out early on if they try todo everything. "I haven't minded that so much," says Dowling,who is also Cabot professor of the naturalscience. "You can't do everything-you have to givethings up," says Leverett House master John E.Dowling '57, who will retire at the end of thesemester after 17 years at the helm.Īccustomed to lecturing around the world,Dowling says he had to adjust his travel schedulebecause of House obligations. House masters dodouble-or even triple-duty, often serving ashigh-level University administrators andprofessors in their fields.Īssuming the responsibilities of the mastershipoften means sacrificing professional and personaltime. Ware is the acting dean of the School of PublicHealth while Pforzheimer House Master James J.McCarthy is the head of the Museum of ComparativeZoology.Īnd the list goes on. "Now itbrings such richness to the House."Ĭertainly masters would agree that their liveswould be much easier if supporting student groupswere their only activity. "I would have never thought the Opera wouldhave come off the ground," Liem laughs. Liem says he provideS funds for the DunsterHouse Opera, but the House dining hall's musicalextravaganza was completely spurred by studentinitiative. "I come up with an idea and think it will bevery dandy," Pfister says, "but I am often humbledby the discovery that not everyone thinks it is socool." The Harvest Moon Festival also flopped "becausestudents were just not interested," he added. "I ended up forcing students to go and listento the professors," he says.
#Master of my domain saying series#
Liem cites his "Works-in-Progress" program,which incorporates Senior Common Room members intoa mealtime lecture series in Dunster, as a "greatidea-I thought." if I tried to do something on my own,it invariably failed." "I cancatalyze what the students are trying to do. "The students make or break life in the House,"says Dunster House Master Karel F. When planning events in the House, masters cantake varied approaches-from pro-active todetached.
Mitchell, master of Eliot House, recalling the adage of a former colleague in Pforzheimer-then North-House. "We spend 90 percent of the time on 10 percent of the students," says Stephen A. However, many agree that mastering involves an often-imbalanced use of their time. "It's a question of dealing with roommate issues, and space and open houses-and who can pick up the kegs because no one's delivering," quips Eliot House Co-Master Kristine L. When there is a tutor to hire, a letter of recommendation to write or a seminar to approve, the master is in the House. What is it like to be master of the House?Ī master's role is part-administrative, part-ceremonial. What exactly does go on behind the ivory curtain separating the walnut panels of the masters' residences from the postered walls of student rooms? Ware says he feels like "the mayor of a small town."Īnd as each House has its own architecture, each set of masters has its own style some choose to foster student initiatives, while others focus on improving the House's physical resources.Įven with the controversial decision of randomization soon to be reevaluated, and the imminent retirement of two of the Houses' longest standing masters, this distinguished group is taking change in stride. Quincy House Master Michael Shinagel says he serves as "the skipper of a major cruise ship." Cabot House Master James H. In their own minds, the role of master is not as clearly defined as other administrative positions on campus, and each couple has a slightly different conception of the post. But what do the masters of Harvard's 12 upperclass Houses do on a daily basis? You might see them eating in the dining hall once every chicken teriyaki, and many of them make a mean cheesecake.