Colton says that tension is not the best way to describe the relationship between the centers and the academic departments.
"The departments are definitely primary and they should be since they are responsible for things like undergraduate education and Ph.D. training," he says. "The centers are in a world that is still dominated by disciplines as it should be."
Others point out that these regional study centers are merely another layer among many at Harvard.
"Undergrads have their worlds which are quite busy," says Galen Amstutz, Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies coordinator. "There are other worlds of more complicated research and esoteric levels of study--not that they don't have access to those centers, but they are busy."
Looking Ahead
Sharing public space will allow the different groups to learn from each other and make student involvement easier. It will also benefit the individual centers.
"We need to reinforce existing centers," says President Neil L. Rudenstine. "Connecting them was a very deliberate decision."