Adams' letter, however, brought a flurry of responses to the Crimson that criticized his letter and defended Eck's appointment.

"I am looking forward to having [Eck and Austin] in the House my senior year," wrote Lowell House resident Marnie A. Friedman '99 in her May 6 letter to The Crimson. "I feel sorry for Adams, who is closing himself off from two vibrant, incredible women."

One Down

Without wasting any time after announcing the Eck-Austin appointment, Lewis the next day announced the University had filled the vacancy in Leverett House with Mallinkcrodt Professor of Physics Howard Georgi '67 and his wife Ann, a lab manager at Harvard Medical School.

With two sons grown and moved out of their Topsfield, Mass. home, the Georgis said they are ready to devote their efforts to sustaining a sense of community within the House.

But the Georgis said they will refrain from making any sweeping changes until they are better acclimated to the House.

"One of the things we loved about Leverett was that there was a kind of family atmosphere to the House that was very important and that we'd like to do our best not to mess up," Howard Georgi said. "I don't foresee making any dramatic changes in the immediate future."

For the physicist who is well-known for his tofu hot dogs, and the lab manager who is an avid equestrian, the new position in Leverett brings an opportunity to further strengthen the House advising system.

According to Howard Georgi, who is also a member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) administrative committee on women, he and his wife hope to establish a program to encourage and support undergraduate women who are involved in the sciences.

Though the name "Georgi" was new to many House residents in the humanities, many students in the sciences said Professor Georgi is accessible--and fun.

"He has dedicated much time into trying to teach his students rather than lecturing alone," said Danh C. Dang '98, who took Physics 15c: "Wave Phenomena" with Georgi.

"He's always available outside the class to answer questions and just socially interact with students," Dang said.

As an undergraduate student in the mid-1960s, Georgi says his master in Eliot House, John H. Finley '25, was a paragon of leadership--devoting a great deal of personal attention to students and memorizing each resident's name.

"We had a very colorful House master," Howard Georgi said of Finley. "He was terrific. That's, I think, an impossible standard, but in some senses, that's my picture of a House master."

Without the Master Masters

With the departure of Bossert and Dowling, the collective House system loses a tremendous amount of experience. But perhaps more importantly, it also loses two vocal players in the debate over House life at the College.

According to Dunster House Master Karel F. Liem, while the departure of the Lowell and Leverett leaders may not expressly change the "dynamic" of masters meetings, it does have the potential to affect the way other masters vote on issues that issue administration decisions on House policy.

"They quietly were really in a leadership position," Liem said. "If Bossert votes in a particular way, I would certainly take that into consideration. The same thing [goes] with Dowling."

And with randomization slated for review in the coming year, the departure of two masters who in the past have espoused strong but differing opinions on the topic promises to make the group a bit more moderate.

Although Eck and Georgi said they hope to get a better feel of their respective Houses before taking up positions on the future of randomization at Harvard, the two professors and their co-Masters undoubtedly enter the exclusive club of Masters with a set of ideas unique from those who are departing.