Winthrop House Master and Professor of Sociology James A. Davis and Co-Master Martha Davis will be leaving Harvard University at the end of the academic year.

In a letter sent to house residents last Wednesday, the masters said they were "ready to shift gears" and return to their homes in Michigan and Chicago. Their departure will mark the end of a 15-year term as Winthrop house masters.

The masters simply "felt that it was time to move on," said Martha Davis. "We thought that at some point we would return to the Midwest from whence we came," she said. "It all sort of came together and we said `okay, let's do it,"' she said.

The co-master said she is looking forward to spending time with grandchildren who live near their Chicago home, while her husband is anticipating continued work on public opinion research funded by the National Science Foundation.

James Davis will also be doing some teaching at the University of Chicago, she said.

House residents interviewed said they were not shocked by the masters' decision to leave, and some were quite indifferent to the move.

"I wasn't really surprised," said George K. Hasiotis '94. "We don't really have too much contact with them. I wasn't really that concerned."

"Everyone expected [their departure] whether or not it would be this soon," said Kristen M. Galanek '95.

Jean M. McNeill, who works at the house dining hall checker's desk, said she was surprised that the masters were leaving and said she expected they would have stayed "a little bit longer."

"She made us feel like we were all family here. It's going to be sad when she leaves," McNeill said.

The search for a new house master will be given to a house advisory committee composed of undergraduates, house tutors, and members of the senior common room, according to Senior Tutor Greg Mobley. The committee will work in conjunction with Dean ofthe College L. Fred Jewett and the centraladministration, he said.

Jewett will describe the process in more detailand solicit the input of Winthrop residents at anopen meeting next week, said Mobley, where "peoplecan describe what they want." The committee willbe looking for Harvard faculty members interestedin the position.

The position of house master is generally "nota lifetime post like the Supreme Court," but it is"mutually renewable" if the house and the masterwish to continue, Mobley said