The Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA) has tapped former Cambridge Mayor Francis H. Duehay '55 to lead a three-year, $7.2 million capital campaign, PBHA officials announced Friday.

Duehay, who stepped down as mayor Jan. 2 following a 36-year career as a city-elected official, will co-chair the organization's Centennial Campaign along with Nancy Rahnasto Osborne '76.

"[It is] very important to establish a solid endowment for this public service organization," Duehay said yesterday. "[PBHA] contributes enormously to Cambridge and Boston."

Duehay said PBHA has never conducted an endowment drive of this proportion. If the campaign succeeds in meeting its goal, it will be one of the largest student group fundraising drives ever at Harvard.

Its alumni have never been organized, and "it's very important to establish an ongoing alumni organization" to support undergraduates' PBHA efforts, he said.

Duehay, who volunteered in PBHA during his college years and currently serves on its Board of Trustees, said his role in the drive will allow him to contribute both to his native city and his alma mater.

"I'm in a position now to spend a little time doing this," he said. "It's the way I can contribute to both the college and the community at the same time."

Osborne, a PBHA alumna and former Disney executive who lives in Sherman Oaks, Calif., will lead West Coast efforts for the campaign, which has not yet officially started.

Duehay said capital campaigns are not generally "announced" until a third to half of the campaign goal has been met. He does not expect this campaign to be officially announced for six months, he said.

"We really have the whole campaign in front of us," he said.

In the meantime, PBHA leaders will continue organizing, said President Natalie Guerrier '01, who added that PBHA has been planning its campaign for over a year.

Guerrier said the campaign is working on fundraising strategies and events.

The campaign will be led by three committees, Guerrier said. Duehay and Osborne will head the Centennial Campaign Committee, while other PBHA alumni will serve on the Leadership Committee and Faculty will serve on the Honorary Committee.

Trevor S. Cox '01 will serve as student chair of the Centennial Campaign, which starts in conjunction with PBHA's 100th anniversary this year.

The first campaign event will be a benefit concert at Sanders Theatre May 15 featuring violinist Joe Lin '00.

Duehay said PBHA approached him about co-chairing the campaign in October. However, because he was serving the last months of his mayoral term, he was very busy and had to postpone accepting the offer.

He said he spent the month of January talking with PBHA officials, College officials, alumni and students, making sure they "really wanted" him to help.

"I wanted to make sure that all of the constituencies...were all together in this and understood it," he said.

Duehay also said 17,000 alumni have had some involvement with PBHA during their College careers, and that the campaign will eventually reach out to all of those alumni.

Duehay, the standard-bearer of the progressive Cambridge Civic Association (CCA), was known for being pragmatic, methodical and skilled at bringing opposing camps together during his council career, which spanned from 1972 to 2000.

In a January interview, Duehay said his biggest achievements were the roles he played in stabilizing the city's management and in affordable housing.

When he first arrived on the council, the city had had five or six city managers within a six-year period.

Now, City Manager Robert W. Healy has been in office for nearly two decades, and has led the city to become one of the six best-financed cities in the U.S., according to bond-rating organizations.

In the area of affordable housing, Duehay was a strong supporter of rent control since its inception in 1969, filed state legislation to create the city's Affordable Housing Trust and developed the CITYHOME program, which has created or preserved 1,761 units of affordable housing since the program began in July 1995.

Duehay, who also served on the School Committee from 1964 to 1972, said he will work on the drive a couple of days per week for the next three years.

His successor as mayor, Anthony D. Galluccio, was only elected to the post at 1:30 a.m. last Tuesday, six weeks after the current council's inauguration.

Duehay said he thinks Galluccio, who served as vice mayor during Duehay's last term, will aid the city.

"I think Galluccio will be a good mayor," Duehay said. "I do think he's reliable. He's honest."