Other student leaders are even more critical of Lewis' performance.

"In the beginning, I thought he was really friendly and I think we got along, but that's when we weren't trying to talk about substantive issues," Pan says. "Our personalities did not mesh well when we started to disagree on decisions."

Andrew J. Ehrlich '96-'97, Pan's successor as PBHA president, also criticizes Lewis' approach to decision-making.

"I don't know that we need to go digging up what battles are over, but clearly I think that discarding both the students, community and alumni in the decision he made, I think he made an enormous mistake," Ehrlich says of the Kidd appointment. "There's a difference between listening and hearing and I hope that's not a trend that will continue."

Pan says Lewis has little natural administrative talent.

"He has a lot of improvement in every single area of being a dean," says Pan.

Administrators: Split Opinions

Secretary of the FAS John B. Fox Jr. '59, who also had a contentious first term when he was dean of the College (please see sidebar, this page), says he believes Lewis is doing a "fabulous job."

"He's choosing the right things to worry about," Fox says.

Like Fox, Rudenstine also gives unqualified praise to Lewis.

"I think his fundamental administrative policies are really extraordinary," Rudenstine says. "[He's] a fine person with great integrity, high intelligence and [he] cares...tremendously about his policies."

But some administrators are not so unequivocal in their praise.

Dean of Undergraduate Education Lawrence Buell calls Lewis a "proactive, highly organized and articulate individual," but stops short of saying that Lewis has done a good job during his first semester.

"I think he's given his all to the job, and I respect that," he says. "That's how I would phrase that."

Assistant Dean of Students Sarah E. Flatley also commends Lewis for his dedication to his job, noting that she has received e-mail from him "at a time of night that is more associated with students than with faculty."