“Jay’s promised us a lot of barbecuing. He said he’d get right on that,” said Rosenberg.
Rosen, who is currently co-teaching Historical Studies A-12: “International Conflict and Cooperation in the Modern World,” wrote in an e-mail that he and his wife looked forward to living in Currier, where his father lived as a member of the class of 1942.
“He’s not the stuffy professor that sits in his closet all day,” said Daniel B. Tomlinson ’03, a member of the Winthrop search committee.
Tomlinson said he thought Rosen and his wife would complement each other as masters, as he is more “outgoing” and she is “quiet and reserved.”
Winthrop House Senior Tutor Courtney B. Lamberth expressed enthusiasm over the selection of Rosen, calling him and his wife, Mandana Sassanfar, “acclaimed teachers,” “easy to talk to” and “totally unpretentious.”
The three new master couples will bring a total of nine children into the Houses with them.
The appointments will not diversify the current pool of masters. Boskey Professor of Law Lani Guinier ’71, who would have been the first black House master and was the only female and only minority candidate, was not selected.
Lewis—who made the final decisions with the incoming dean of the College and Dean of Undergraduate Education Benedict H. Gross ’71, Dean of the Faculty William C. Kirby and University President Lawrence H. Summers—said filling the three slots in one year meant the selection process was “a huge amount of work.”
Lewis said in addition to the interviews and tours, the search involved checking the reputations of the candidates in the CUE Guide.
But Lewis says he is happy about both the pool that applied and the three who will take on the masterships.
“We had a very deep pool of master candidates and I am excited and pleased about the people who accepted offers,” said Lewis.
The search process kicked off in September with Winthrop House Masters Paul D. Hanson and Cynthia Rosenberger’s announcement that they would leave in at the end of the year.
The Currier masters, William A. and Barbara S. Graham, announced their retirement from the House at the beginning of January and Cabot Masters James H. and Janice Ware sent their own farewell e-mail by the end of the month.
Each House then formed its own advisory committee, composed of resident tutors, students and Senior Common Room members, to interview each candidate over dinner, lead them on a tour of the Houses and advise the deans on the final selections.
—Staff writer Elisabeth S. Theodore contributed to the reporting of this story.
—Staff writer Laura L. Krug can be reached at krug@fas.havard.edu.