A Harvard graduate and former attorney at the Boston firm Hill & Barlow is the new Secretary of the University and Assistant to the President.

Marc L. Goodheart '81 will plan and coordinate the activities of the internal administration of the University and the governing boards--the Corporation and the Board of Overseers. He will report directly to President Neil L. Rudenstine and the boards.

Goodheart worked in the General Counsel's office in 1991 and since 1992, has been the special assistant to the president, a job that familiarized him with the needs and organization of the University.

"He is someone who cares deeply about Harvard," said Provost Harvey V. Fineberg '67, citing Goodheart's degrees from both the College and the Law School. He will be "a good manager of the staff who work at Loeb House."

Rudenstine emphasized Goodheart's ability to work well with administrators around campus.

"He knows Harvard, he understands the challenges of higher education, and he is widely admired and respected throughout the University," Rudenstine said in a statement.

Goodheart is replacing Michael W. Roberts, who left last May.

In addition to his experience in law, Goodheart, a former president of the Harvard Independent, was a reporter for the Miami Herald.

He has a two-year-old daughter, Nina, and lives in Brookline.