When Archie C. Epps III retires on July 1, Harvard will say good-bye to more than the longest serving dean of students in the College's history. The University will also say good-bye to the administrative position.

Earlier this month, Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 announced that instead of replacing Epps, the responsibilities of his office would be divided among three associate deans of the College. Thomas A. Dingman '67, currently the associate dean of the House system, will take on responsibilities for University Health Services, the department of athletics and advising. Georgene B. Herschbach, associate dean for finance and administration, will continue to focus on technology projects and classroom space.

And the search is on for a new associate dean who will take on the bulk of much of what Epps focused on during the last years of his term--extracurricular activities.

Still, many say that the loss of a dean of students does not mean that students have lost their advocate in the administration. Instead, administrators at the College, and those contacted at other schools, argue that students' needs will continue to be represented through Lewis and his team of associate deans as well as senior tutors in the Houses. Losing a "dean of students," they argue, was merely losing a title.

What's in a Name

"I don't think they're removing the dean of students position," says Sarah Flatley, former assistant dean of students. "I think they're just changing the title."

Flatley speaks from experience. When she left the College more than two years ago, she was replaced with Susan T. Cooke, who was given a position called coordinator of student activities. Flatley says that she and Cooke still have the same responsibilities.

"Nothing has really changed. They just chose a new title," she explains.

Dingman agrees, arguing that Epps' primary responsibility has long been extracurricular activities, with undergraduates turning to assistant deans of freshmen and senior tutors with their academic and disciplinary concerns--the more traditional responsibilities of a dean of students.

"The dean of students has primary responsibility for extracurriculars, and the new associate dean will be responsible for that," Dingman says.

According to a report on the structure of the College co-authored by Lewis in 1994, the first responsibility of senior tutors is "advice, assistance and monitoring of the academic programs and progress towards degrees of the students in the Houses." Lewis goes on to say that senior tutors are "in fact deans for the students in their Houses."

The same report compares the dean of freshmen with senior tutors and House masters, arguing that they not only have "the huge responsibility...of running the freshman residential system but of ensuring that freshmen receive academic advice both in specific disciplines and in connection with non-concentration requirements."

Epps' responsibilities have largely consisted of administering extracurricular activities, recognition of student groups and distribution of grant money. Come July, Epps says he will stay on as what he calls "an ombudsman," with a special emphasis on diversity, the senior class, and publishing the Harvard College Journal.

Margaret Bruzelius, Eliot House's senior tutor, says while Epps' former role made him responsible for many things that did not fall into her realm, she too was a student advocate. Eugene C. McAfee, Lowell House senior tutor, says his former masters, Mary and William Bossert '59, would introduce him to new residents as a dean of students for the House.

"Certainly Dean Epps did a lot of things I didn't do. But insofar as people are suggesting that he's an advocate for students and no one else is, that's what we do as senior tutors," Bruzelius says. "A lot of what I do is to help people get what they want with the Harvard bureaucracy."