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Alums Who Never Left the Arms of Mother Harvard

While many of the members of the class of '92 can't wait to embark on life outside the University, four members of the class of '67 never left Harvard Yard.

It's not unusual for Harvard administrators to be graduates of the College. But an unusual number of the University's deans and directors are members of the class of '67. For them, working at the University is in many ways a fulfillment of the promise of the '60s.

Thomas A. Dingman '67, associate dean of the College for house life, said it is not surprising that students from '67 returned as faculty. The class presaged a period angered by the establishment, moved by passion and looking for change.

Although Dingman and the other administrators were a part of the anti-establishment movement of their college days, they said their work within the institution does not contradict the ideals they held as students.

According to Dingman, his work in the admissions office, in the House system as a senior tutor and now as an associate dean shows an old commitment to social services.

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"Working at Harvard is an important opportunity to act on the values many of us held dear in '60s," says Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons '67.

As a graduate student in the School of Education, Fitzsimmons' research addressed issues of social inequalities. The dean says his current job in the admissions office reflects his goal to lessen inequality, although he has been sharply criticized of late for presiding over admissions policies which still give preferences to children of alumni.

The movements of the '60s--the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement and the women's movement--impacted, and continue to impact, many of the members of the Class of '67.

Dudley F. Blodget '67, director of developmental and external relations at the School of Education, says many of his classmates have sought non-traditional lives in order to retain the values of that era.

"Those were pretty heady times," Blodget says.

This commitment is one that the students of today have built upon, according to Fitzsimmons.

"The experiences we had in the '60s raised a lot of issues of involvement," Fitzsimmons says. He adds that today's students are every bit as serious, if not more.

According to Fitzsimmons, Philips Brooks House and student government are much more active today than 25 years ago.

Sixty percent of the undergraduates now participate in social service activities.

Blodget says he remains awed by the changes that have taken place since he passed through tercentenary Theater.

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