In 1953 Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57 arrived on the campus as a frightened freshman. Since then--except for a couple of years abroad--he has not left.

Since his first days at Harvard when he was just one of a 1000 scared freshmen, Jewett has risen from student to dean of the College, holding the positions of proctor, senior adviser, assistant dean of freshmen, director of freshmen scholarships and dean of admissions en route.

"I enjoyed work at the University so much that I never left," Jewett says.

His long continuous association with Harvard and his 29 years of administrative experience have combined with Jewett's gregarious personality to make the relaxed dean one of Harvard's most successful and accessible administrators, students and colleagues say.

In his first year and a half as dean, Jewett,the top administrator in the College, hasundertaken major revisions of the alcohol policyand disciplinary system, and is currently involvedwith finding solutions for the problems ofminority students and overcrowding in the houses.

As chairman of a host of student and facultycommittees including the Committee on House Life(COHL), the Committee on College Life (CCL) andthe Administrative Board, Jewett has won kudosfrom faculty, administrators and students alike.

"Both with the Ad Board and with students, heis extremely interested in talking to students andmaking the College more receptive to students,"says Adams House Senior Tutor Marshall Hyatt, whosits on the Ad Board.

"He gives one a sense that he is trying tolearn from your experience," says Dean of StudentsArchie C. Epps III, who has seen five deans of theCollege come and go and serves on a variety ofcommittees with Jewett including the CCL and thenewly founded committee on racial harassment.

The dean, who has a habit of leaning back inhis chair and putting his feet up during meetings,also garners praise for his ability to run a wellorganized committee and to pull together aconsensus.

"I think it's terrific how he has been able todevelop a consensus and has brought people intothe decision-making process," says Assistant Deanfor the House System Thomas A. Dingman '67, whoserves on the COHL and the Ad Board with Jewett.

Although his predecessor as dean of theCollege, John B. Fox Jr. '59, drew fire from somehouse masters for his aloof attitude, many of thesame critics say that Jewett has done an excellentjob of soothing a troubled situation.

"I have been very hard on deans in the past andI withheld my judgement about Fred on how well hewould be able to take over a situation that wasquite bad. The relationship between the housemasters and the dean of the College [Fox] was nothealthy," says Lowell House Master William H.Bossert. "But I can't fault Fred on any majoraction, [although] we have disagreed."

"If I had any reservations about Fred I wouldstate them, but I don't," Bossert adds.

"He's an unusually good administrator," saysNorth House Master J. Woodland Hastings."Decisions are now made much more smoothly."

While Jewett may be good at making decisions,he says that he has little control over the issuesthat he addresses. "It's not a job where one cantotally control what one does. The agenda to somedegree is determined by the problems that arise,"he says.