"With her departure, Harvard loses an administrator, teacher and colleague of extraordinary talents, dedication and good will," Nathans wrote.

Sterritt said her most important projects at Harvard have been contributing to the advanced standing program and building connections between first-years and academic departments.

"We've gotten a good response from the departments," she said.

Sterritt, who specializes in Renaissance French literature, has also taught courses in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures during her four-year tenure. This past fall she taught a course entitled "French 111: Comic Prose and Cultural Ideologies in 16th-Century France."

Sterritt said she will miss both her faculty colleagues and her students.

"I'll certainly miss the Harvard environment and the Boston location, which has been very pleasant," she said.

Nathan said the FDO has begun searching for a new associate dean and hopes to announce an appointment by early to mid-May.