But Sears says Epps is nevertheless "a very empathetic and fair human being, purely on a personal basis."

Recently Epps also instituted the system of race relations tutors in the Houses, designating specific tutors to assist stu- dents in dealing with racial and ethnicproblems.

Critics of the system say it fails bycompartmentalizing the problem. And some havecharged that Epps' own role is similar to that ofthe race relations tutors--by being officially incharge of racial issues, they say he has givenwhite administrators the freedom to ignore thosequestions. Others say he has helped put a diverseface on unpopular policy decisions over which hehas had little control. A 1992 Boston Globeprofile noted "skepticism" about his racerelations efforts.

Gomes agrees that the administration may haveused Epps to quell demands for diversity but saysthe dean was never a pawn.

"Do I think the University used Archie? I sayyes, of course they did," he said. "But he wouldpermit that only as long as those uses could besubjugated to his own vision...It was a doublegame."

The Dean and the Man

Some students who assailed Epps' authenticityas undergraduates have come to see him as an allyover time.

Zaheer R. Ali '94 was the president of the BSAin 1992 when the group issued an invitation toLeonard Jeffries, a professor at City Universityof New York, who many students alleged was ananti-Semite.

At the time Ali charged that Harvard made Eppsresponsible for racial issues "to keep thestudents in check."

But he says he has come to see Epps as moregenerous and personally committed.

"I began to draw a distinction between theoffice of the Dean of Students and Archie Epps asa person," Ali says.

Ali remembers a meeting with Epps at which thedean asked him why the group felt it necessary tobring Jeffries to campus.

"I said, 'Weren't you involved with Malcolm X'sspeeches at Harvard?'" Ali recalls. "He looked atme and just smiled. That's when I felt we made aconnection. As Dean of Students he had to questionour motives...But as Archie Epps, he understood."

The Dean of Students and Archie Epps can be twovery different people. As an administrator, Eppsis an authority figure, separated from students bya title and a desk. But in person, Epps has builtwarm, concerned relationships with decades ofundergraduates.

"Because students perceive him to befair-minded, he has established a relationship oftrust," says Lamont Professor of Divinity Paul D.Hanson, who is also master of Winthrop House.

Epps sang with the Harvard Glee Club during the1950s and '60s, and continues to join the groupduring the group's football concerts.