And indeed when he assesses the effects of randomization on his beloved Adams, one knows he means it. While he says much of the talent that used to define Adams House still exists in individuals and smaller groups, he says the spirit of old is no longer.

"What has almost totally been lost is the self-perception of gestalt, of spirit and atmosphere that is created by people who choose to live here," he says. "They gave a certain kind of focus, energy and framing to the place."

But that doesn't mean Kiely does not appreciate the student body living in Adams, which for the first time in his Harvard career has had no say in its housing arrangements.

House leaders say it wouldn't be in the Kielys' style to make current students conform to any set ideal. According to former House committee co-chair Sean R. Peirce '98, the profound tolerance that Kiely sought to foster within the House dictated that even under the system of randomization that he so opposed, House residents should be made to feel comfortable in Adams.

"It was never like he had one vision that everyone had to agree with--it was very much flexible," Peirce says. "He didn't want some idealized version of the old Adams House. He didn't want that forced on anyone."

Instead it was what students describe as a cool, approachable feeling--chatting about a good book over lunch with Bob or starting up a conversation in French at a House tea with Jana--that will remain the Kiely legacy.

Even when Robert Kiely has packed his family's bags--a new book on his life's work due out in the next few months will keep him busy--it is far from trite to suggest he will be impossible to forget.

"The Kielys are Adams House," Peirce says. "Students cycle through every three years--but they are the one lasting guiding force."