Kenneth G. Smith, the acting chief operating officer (COO) of Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA) will step down next month to head a non-profit organization in Boston.

Smith, who is responsible for the day-to-day operations of PBHA, will leave Harvard on May 4.

"There are many things that I had to take into consideration", smith said about his decision to leave PBHA. "I think it's time to move on and do something different".

His duties have included supervising the organization's directors of programs (DOPs) and reporting to Assistant Dean of Public Service Judith Kidd on issues safety and liability and to the Board of Trustees on programmatic matters.

Smith acknowledged that he and Kidd have had disagreements at times during the past year, but declined to comment on the role his relationship with Kidd played in his decision to leave PBHA.

"The assistant dean and I have had to take different positions on certain issues, but that's part of doing business." he said.

"We had a good professional relationship," Kidd said of smith.

PBHA's Board of Trustees, which consists of the organization's student officers, administrators and community leaders, is responsible for finding a new COO. The board is not scheduled to meet until April 11.

Kidd said that a formal search has not begun and would not speculate as to how long the search might take.

She added that she and PBHA President Roy E. Bahat '98 met on Monday to discuss possible ways to fill the post.

Bahat could not be reached for comment yesterday.

PBHA Vice-President Michael W. Ma '98 said he believes an interim replacement will be appointed for the summer, while a large-scale search to find a permanent replacement will begin concurrently.

Ma added that he believes smith's permanent successor will be selected from outside Harvard.

"It's not likely that a DOP will be promoted," Ma said.

Smith will leave PBHA less than two months before the start of its summer programs, which are scheduled to begin June 16.