Assistant Dean of the College Karen E. Avery ’87 affectionately wipes the “sludgy“ nose of her two-month-old son and places him in the Gymini, where a toy rooster and other animals hang from two criss-crossing poles above him.

The baby is not amused.

“My daughter, she loved that thing,” Avery says, reminsicing about the hours of peace while her daughter Angela—now two years old—entertained herself inside the “activity mat.”

But her son—Avery David Chapman—is a bit more difficult to keep busy, she explains, as she speaks to him and her dog Bacchus in silly voices.

“This is what I do,” she says of her time at home. “I talk to an eight-week-old.”

Her days often extend to the wee hours of the morning and she finds herself tuning in to “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” on Nickelodeon’s TV Land at 4 a.m.

“My days don’t really end because he doesn’t have a regular sleep schedule,”Avery says. “Literally, I’ve been only getting three or four hours of good sleep a night. That’s definitely sleep deprivation.”

The hours Avery keeps two months into her maternity leave are definitely a lot more like those of the average Harvard undergraduate than those of her colleagues back at University Hall.

But then again, Avery is not the typical Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) administrator.

“I think she’s the kind of person who is not afraid to think outside of the box,” says Associate Dean of College David P. Illingworth ’71, who has worked with Avery in the admissions and College dean’s office for 10 years.

Avery livens up a College administration in which she is one of the youngest deans and one of the only women. And she is one of the few administrators in the entire University who is known for her dynamic personality.

“She’s also the person who lights up the room when she comes in,” Illingworth says. “She has a wondeful personality and she exudes warmth, charisma and a sense of humor.”

A Working Woman

Avery’s characteristic warmth and sense of humor help with her job as the assistant dean of the College who deals with issues of co-education, sexual assault and harassment. She is also director of the Ann Radcliffe Trust.

As a liaison between women’s groups and the office of Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis ’68—who in the past has clashed with women’s groups—Avery holds a sensitive position.