Paul S. Grogan will become the new president of a major Boston philanthropic organization this summer, ending his brief tenure as Harvard's vice president for government, community and public affairs.

In July, Grogan will take the reigns of the Boston Foundation, a $700 million charity organization focused on improving educational and social services in the city through grants and local partnerships.

Grogan will replace Anna Faith Jones, who has headed the organization since 1985. Jones announced her retirement last fall.

Grogan's replacement to head Harvard's Office of Government, Community and Public Affairs will be selected by University President-elect Lawrence H. Summers in coming months. Summers must also find a replacement for outgoing provost Harvey V. Fineberg '67, who will leave Harvard on June 30 as well.

Grogan, who has been at Harvard since January 1999, said that the Boston Foundation position was "an opportunity of a lifetime," and one he could not pass up.

"This is a hugely important civic institution in the city of Boston," Grogan said. "My lifelong interest has been in urban affairs and in building and rebuilding cities. This will allow me spend all my time focused on those sets of issues in a city I care about a great deal."

Grogan has a long history of work in the public sector. He previously served as president and CEO of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, a nationwide, non-profit focused on community development.

In the 1980s, Grogan served as an advisor to two influential Boston mayors, Kevin H. White and Raymond L. Flynn, and headed Boston's Neighborhood Development and Employment Agency, producing initiatives on affordable housing, education and literacy.

Grogan brought his public sector experience to Harvard in 1999, serving as the University's voice on development projects and community issues.

"Part of the attraction of this particular job is that [University President] Neil Rudenstine gave me the assignment of deepening Harvard's constructive involvement in both our host cities, and to do that in a pretty dramatic fashion," Grogan said.

During his time at Harvard, Grogan has won widespread praise for improving the University's ties with the city of Boston, which had been strained in recent years because of the University's secret purchase of large amounts of land in Allston.

With his experience and connections within Boston-including a friendship with Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino-Grogan helped smooth relations with the city, while also helping the University secure 48 additional acres of land in Allston last June, paving the way for expansion into Boston for decades to come.

"Paul has brought a sense of real insight, energy and innovation to the important task of building Harvard's relationships with our neighboring communities," Rudenstine said in a release.

In addition to campus expansion projects, Grogan has served as the University's leader on community initiatives in areas such as affordable housing and education. He spearheaded the 20/20/2000 initiative last November, a program providing $20 million over 20 years to fund low-interest loans for affordable housing in both Boston and Cambridge.

His office also organized Harvard's $5 million investment in the Boston After School for All Partnership announced last month, a $23 million partnership with the city of Boston and several public and private companies to improve and expand afterschool opportunities in the city.

"Paul has established important new direction for the University in the area of partnership initiatives," said Mary H. Power, Harvard's senior director of community relations.

Grogan's experience in the public sector and at Harvard, in addition to his wide-ranging connections in local and national government, made him an attractive candidate to lead the Boston Foundation, which itself is a member of the Boston After School for All Partnership.

"It is the total picture of Paul Grogan over decades of community building that was the deciding factor in his selection," said Boston Foundation

spokesperson Karen Schwartzman.

Unfinished Business?

Grogan said he has been happy with the achievements during his two years at Harvard, adding that he never planned to leave so soon.

"I expected to be at Harvard very much longer than it's turning out," Grogan said. "I'm leaving, frankly, sooner than I want to."

Although Grogan has been able to mend relations with Boston since arriving at Harvard, the University's interactions with Cambridge have deteriorated into a public war of words.

While the 20/20/2000 initiative helped relations in Cambridge by addressing the issue of affordable housing, the Cambridge City Council has continually attacked Harvard over the past 18 months on issues ranging from a living wage for Harvard employees to University development proposals.

The most recent flare-up occurred two weeks ago when the council blasted Harvard for not making the same commitment to Cambridge education as it had through its Boston afterschool initiative.

Some councilors said they see the current situation as indicative of relations under Grogan.

"It has become clear that town-gown relations have taken a southward dip in recent years," said Councillor Kathleen L. Born.

But Grogan said he has learned to expect criticism from the council during his two years at Harvard.

"I'm not concerned about the ups and downs of the City Council relationship, because if you look at the history of Harvard and Cambridge, that's the way its been for a very long time," Grogan said. "There are points of acrimony and conflict, and there are points of more positive relations."

"I'm not vain enough to think I could come into this 350-year-old history and make things alright in a short time," he added.

Grogan said he believes the Harvard's relationship with the Cambridge city council may not indicate how residents of Cambridge feel about the University.

"For anyone in this job to keep their sanity, they have to be willing to, at some times, not define the whole of the Cambridge relationship as taking place in the city council chamber," Grogan said. "It's a particular dynamic that is not always reflective of what's going on."

But he said he believes his replacement should continue to work to improve relations with both Cambridge and Boston.

"It's in Harvard's interest to work in communities and build partnerships with them," Grogan said. "That has to continue, and I'm confident it will."