As with most major Harvard appointments, the University president ultimately decides who will be the master of each of the College's residential domains.

But for all practical purposes, the process of appointing House masters is primarily the Dean of the College's responsibility. Harry R. Lewis '68, who has helped select five masters in the last three years, narrows down the choices using a House-based advisory committee and in consultation with other College administrators.

The search this spring to fill the position being vacated by outgoing 26-year Adams House Master Robert J. Kiely '60 and Co-Master Jana Kiely--like Lowell and Leverett Houses last year and Cabot and Pforzheimer Houses the year before--followed the same general procedure.

Inevitably though, each search is influenced by many of the personalities involved--of the House, the students and tutors on the search committee, the candidates. Thus, while Lewis has composed a set of guidelines to direct the process each time a mastership becomes available, there are few hard and fast rules for evaluating master candidates. (P)Except for the fact that the candidates 'identities are kept a secret throughout the period of consideration, no two searches are the same.

Making a Move

The decision to step down from the helm of a House is rarely one that masters take lightly. As was the case with the Kielys, masters often make initial plans to leave a House, only to postpone the decision for a number of years.

But when a master does make public his or her intention to vacate their master's residence, it usually occurs in the fall--giving Lewis a window of a few months to begin composing an initial list of potentialcandidates.

Suggestions for candidates, Lewis says, comefrom a number of sources: students, outgoingmasters, Faculty members, other administrators,and, frequently, candidate pools from pastsearches.

Using these suggestions, Lewis contacts many ofthe candidates himself--after all, "you don't wantto appoint someone who they themselves is stilltentative about it," he says--and listens toconcerns from deans and senior Faculty members,some of whom request that a person not beconsidered in order to allow them to dedicate moretime to their College duties.

With the "long list" whittled down to a moremanageable size of about 10--Adams House considerednine candidates this year, Lowell and Leverettabout 12--the time for House involvement begins.

The College's selection guidelines dictate thatthe dean appoints an advisory committee, but inpractice, House have a good degree of flexibilityin determining the composition of the committee.

According to Lowell House Senior Tutor EugeneC. McAfree, Lowell's master search last yearinvolved three students and three Faculty membersassociated with the House's senior common room(SCR). McAfree says he allowed the House's juniorcommon room to elect its three studentrepresentatives, while he was responsible forchoosing the SCR participants.

In Adams House, on the other hand, Senior TutorDavid B. Fithian selected four House residents,two SCR representatives and two resident tutors.

In both cases, the senior tutors alsoparticipated--a role which McAfee says is vital, ifonly so a centralized person is making the callsto candidates and reserving the right rooms forinterviews.

He compares the role of the senior tutor in theprocess to the middle of an hourglass--thecandidate pool above, the House below, with thetutor as the point-person in between.

"You really do need one person doing it," hesays. "The pivotal role we play is purelylogistical."

But once on the committee, many describe theprocess as egalitarian--even a bondingexperience--where all members work together despitewide age and power differentials, putting in longhours to find the best master for the House.

McAfee says the Lowell group interviewed all 12candidates over 14 days last year, and they spenttime after each interview drawing up initialreactions to the candidates.

Another search committee participant last yearsaid he pegged the total time commitment at about50 hours--and said the group met with and discussedsome candidates for upwards of two and a halfhours.

OVER DINNER

Meals with the candidates are often the firstpoint of interaction with search committee membersusing a shared supper as chance to judge eachcandidate on a number of levels.

In general, participants says they hoped toglean from the interview the prospective masters'personalities, possible time commitment to thejob, hopes for the position and interaction withstudents, among other things.

They also considered each candidate's maritalstatus, the relationship between the potentialmaster and co-master, and whether the candidatehad children, although all involved say none ofthese criteria were a determining factor.

Weld Professors of Law Charles R. Nesson '60,who says that three years ago he and his wife Fernwere offered the Pforzheimer House--then NorthHouse--mastership, recalls having dinner in theHouse with only a House tutor and Lewis, who wasoverseeing his first master search.

Nesson, who turned down the offer and who triedunsuccessfully to replace the Kielys this yearsays he doesn't remember meeting with an officialsearch committee.

This year, the Adams House searchcommittee--students included--questioned Nessonextensively at their dinner meeting with him.

"The dinner went well. Fern thought I couldhave been more enthusiastic, but I thought I waspretty enthusiastic," Nesson says, adding thatthe questions at dinner aimed to determine "if wewere authoritarian types or not, if we'd be eatingthere or not, if we were going to make theenvironment flower."

But according to Associate Dean for the HouseSystem Thomas A. Dingman '67, the committees arealso charged with looking for that extra somethingthat makes for a great master.

"The right person could do this job withoutbeing special," Dingman says.

By the same token, McAfee says there's anothercomponent to a master than just doing the job.

"You're going to have a dammed cold House ifthe master just follows the job description," hesays. "You realize that it is that something`more' that brings the House warmth."

That "more," he suggests, occurs in moresubjective characteristics like generosity,friendliness and a good understanding of theacademic side of residential community, not tomention whether they can have fun.

"We didn't pepper them with questions," McAfreeadds. "The whole point was to get a sense of theirfit. It was the something else that wastremendously crucial."

Do You Promise Not to Tell?

But perhaps the most crucial aspect of theentire process, all say, is maintaining a highdegree of confidentitality to protect theinterests of current candidates. Elementarystatistics dictate that the majority of thecandidates will not be chosen for the vacancy athand.

Lewis acknowledges that the difficulty ofmaintaining this level of privacy is not lost on him, even as the advisorycommittees walk through House dining halls withcandidates at their side.

"It does require a degree of privacy forsomething that is relatively public," Lewis says.

He says that although there is an interest inkeeping master candidates' names out of thestudent press, there is no intent to keep peopletotally in the dark. McAfee points out that no onelikes to be known as an "also-ran," especiallysomeone who may be considered for anothermastership in the future.

The End Result

But after all the interviews and confidentialproceedings, it is sometimes a matter ofcircumstances or some unquantifiablecharacteristics that wins someone an appointmentas master.

Lewis says he looks at the "raw data"--informalevaluations submitted by search committeemembers--of each of the candidates who make thecommittee's unofficial short list. On his own,Lewis also takes into consideration the specificneeds of each House. Special weight may be givento a master who is considered best able to addressone of the House's identified weaknesses.

As the process draws to a close, Dean of theFaculty Jeremy R. Knowles and President Neil L.Rudenstine are apprised of the committee's andLewis' recommendations. And from that points on,it is only a matter of time before a letterappears in House residents' mailboxes announcingthe new face in their dining hall.

And despite the often strong sentiments foroutgoing masters, many of whom, like the Kielys,have become synonymous with the House communitythey led, McAfee says the search for a new masteris never just a search to replace the old one.

"In order for the institution to treat itselfright, it has to recognize that personalities comeand go, and it's the mastership that's important,"McAfee says. "There's no one way to do tea.