Students know Byerly Hall, home of Harvard College Admissions and Financial Aid, as a gateway to education, but fewer know it as a place of learning in itself.
James S. Miller certainly wasn't expecting it to be one when he became a Harvard admissions officer in 1978.
"I thought I'd try it out for a year or so," he says, "And it turned into twenty."
Miller, who went on to become Harvard's longest-serving director of financial aid, departed in August to take a senior post in Brown University's development office.
"The time I have spent [in Harvard financial aid] has been really a joy and an honor," Miller says. "I deeply appreciated the chance to do it."
Miller's only the latest Byerly Hall official to leave for a more senior position. Much of the current and former University Hall brass was polished during stints at 8 Garden Street.
Admissions work, officials say, gives administrators experience judging people and a familiarity with the University's needs that prepares them well for other University work.
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