And these requests often deal with anything and everything across the world on which someone from Harvard's expertise is required.

"Any time there's a major event [in the world,] our switchboards light up," Wrinn says.

What is more, Grogan aims to do more than meet all the requests the office gets. The University, he says, needs to do a better job "telling our story," spreading news about Harvard to those who don't yet even know they want it.

"A lot of people are interested in us," Grogan says, "We have to make sure we're not waiting for them to come to us."

For Grogan, Wrinn's new position is a major part of that vision, largely because of his "reputation and belief that communication is a two-way street."

Alex Huppe, who Wrinn will replace, adds that Wrinn "knows the business so well and knows Harvard so well" that he will be effective in telling Harvard's story.

Wrinn's appointment is only the first step: he and Grogan plan to release more Harvard publications, like the Harvard Guide -a kind of tour book for the campus and environs--as well as gathering Gazette stories into "packages" on various issues, which can be given to both media and lawmakers.

They are also planning a restructuring of the news office, working to expand its staff and requesting budget increases from the University that should be notably larger than in years past.

"Obviously there will be some reorganization because form follows function," Grogan says, adding, "I don't think [the current budget] is adequate."

Physical changes will also be undertaken, as the news office undergoes a renovation, bringing its photography studio--currently housed on Church Street--into the main office in Holyoke Center.

The goal of all these changes is a new way of operating the News Office, seeking out the media rather than waiting for reporters to come in on their own.

"We do a really good job of reacting to news that comes to us, but I think we could do an even better job of making advances to the media," Provost Harvey V. Fineberg '67 says.

And in only three months, Grogan has managed to seize on one of President Neil L. Rudenstine's pet concepts: centralization.

Although Grogan has no plans to undermine the news offices of the University's separate schools--and is considering adding one for the only school that doesn't have one, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences--Grogan also wants to "centralize information."

That centralization would mean gathering information from the various schools so that it could be distributed by the University's news office. Reporters looking for information about the different schools at Harvard could then search on one database.