Some aspects of Lewis's second Five-Year Plan went off without a hitch this year, though.

If Lewis's tenure is associated with any one thing, it is the House life that he irreversibly altered with his decision to carry out randomization.

The real challenge of randomization, in many ways, lay not the implementation of itself but dealing with the fallout of the policy--for instance, the objections of old-school House masters who vigorously opposed the new scheme and actively drummed up opposition to it.

Lewis's vision of House life, beginning with the 1994 report he helped to write, has been one of reliable and uniform quality as opposed to unpredictable individuality. The old, idiosyncratic masters stood in the way of this plan.

And with two appointments of new masters in the past two months, Lewis notes that he has now appointed nine of the next year's 12 House chiefs.

Soon to be gone are Quincy House Master Michael Shinagel, whose 15-year tenure is the longest among current masters, and Dunster House Master Karel Liem, who criticized Lewis soon after his resignation for a lack of diversity among masters. Liem is currently the only member of a racial minority group to lead a House.

Taking their place will be two popular professors--Robert P. Kirshner '70, professor of Science A-35, "Matter in the Universe" and IBM Professor of Business and Government Roger B. Porter, who teaches Government 1540, "The American Presidency."

Lewis says he is very excited about both choices.

And Lewis is also thrilled about the choice of Lawrence H. Summers as Harvard's 27th president. Though it took Summers until May to schedule a meeting with Lewis, there is evidence that the new boss--a former Ec 10 TF and member of the economics faculty--will take more of an interest in the College than current University President Neil L. Rudenstine.

Lewis calls his meeting with Summers a "good conversation," if not one full of policy specifics.

In a sense, the meeting was indicative of the sort of year it was for the College and its administration. There are arguably no more big projects that the College can undertake on its own.

The second five years, it seems, will be marked by Lewis consolidating his early reforms and working around the edges of the Faculty, University and Corporation to strengthen the College's hand when it competes for valuable resources.