Some, however, said that they were optimistic. Associate Dean of the College David P. Illingworth ’71 said he hoped the consolidation would not shift the focus away from extracurriculars.

“I worry that could happen, but I’ve been encouraged to think that it won’t,” Illingworth said. “Dean Kirby has been encouraging that he values students’ activities.”

“I’m sure there’s the potential of improvement but there’s also the potential of risk,” Illingworth added.

Surprise Move

Many professors contacted last night said they couldn’t evaluate the impact of Kirby’s consolidation plan and move to sideline Lewis—they had only found out about Kirby’s decisions at the last moment, they said.

And some said they were upset at being kept in the dark.

“As a Faculty member, I would have liked to have known about this,” said Professor of German Peter J. Burgard.

Department chairs only found out about the moves yesterday morning, and there was no mass e-mail to the full Faculty.

Both members of Faculty Council, a committee of 18 professors who routinely advise the dean, and the House Masters who Lewis directly oversees, were ignorant of the impending overhaul until this weekend.

“The announcement was a surprise,” said council member and Ford Professor of Social Sciences David Pilbeam. “I had no idea.”

In addition to being unaware of Kirby’s decision, many said they were caught off guard by what they perceived to be unilateral action.

“Yes, I am surprised,” said Chair of the Department of Government Roderick MacFarquhar. “This is a major bureaucratic decision.”

But MacFarquhar said he believed that Dean Kirby had the mandate to act without widespread consultation of the Faculty.

“As long as the dean of the Faculty has the trust of the Faculty, he can do a great deal without Faculty legislation,” he said. “He has the right to do what he likes.”

Kirby said yesterday he had received advice from many faculty and administrators despite the fact that “changes of the sort announced today are not normally debated in public.”