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Contact: Robert Mitchell
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Significant Multi-Year Renovations Are Recommended For The House System

Committee is charged with defining the mission of residential life to inform renovations

Cambridge, Mass. - March 21, 2008 - Following a comprehensive physical condition and infrastructure assessment, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences will begin planning a major renovation of Harvard University’s undergraduate residential Houses. The renovations will be a significant, long-range project expected to unfold over as many as 15 years, and are anticipated to involve all 12 Houses.

In the fall of 2007, phase one of a facility condition assessment was completed for four of the Houses; phase two of the assessment will determine the condition of the remaining eight Houses. Many of the Houses are more than 80 years old. While they were well designed and constructed, and have been well maintained, many systems are worn from decades of day-to-day use.

In order to inform these renovations at the highest level, Michael D. Smith, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering is appointing a House Program Planning Committee (HPPC) to examine the mission and purpose of House life and to develop an architectural space plan for the House system; it includes students, faculty and staff.

Evelynn Hammonds, incoming Dean of Harvard College effective June 1, 2008, Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz Professor of the History of Science and of African and African American Studies and Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity, will chair the HPPC and David Pilbeam, current Dean of Harvard College and Henry Ford II Professor of Human Evolution will co-chair.

“The House system is a hallmark of the undergraduate experience at Harvard,” says Smith. “It is vital that these buildings support the intellectual, cultural and social programming of the Houses, and allow these communities to flourish as models for the integration of the academic and the residential experience.”

As the renovations progress, both the House communities and the broader Harvard community will be consulted and feedback will be integrated during this planning phase.

The HPPC will propose guidelines and principles for the planning and architecture of the House renovations. Architects will assist the committee in determining the feasibility of the proposed programs. The committee will complete a strategic plan by December 2008 for presentation along with a financial plan to the President and the Corporation.

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