Gross has also stated a firm commitment to improving student space at Harvard. Specifically, he laments the loss of theater and dance space—including Rieman—to the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. “They’ll put it to great use, it’s a great institution, but we need more dance space,” he says.

Gross acknowledges that it’s a complicated problem.

“My hope is that Dean [Drew Gilpin] Faust will give us more time to do construction, once we identify potential dance and theater sites, by giving us an additional year or two of the use of the Rieman and Agassiz [theaters],” he says.

He says he and Dean of the Faculty William C. Kirby are also looking into what they can do about the Hasty Pudding building, a space long used by the social club and theatricals which bear its name. Kirby and Gross say the building needs renovation desperately, going so far as to describe the building as “condemned.”

Finally, as the University discusses how to best use its newly acquired land in Watertown and Allston, Gross says that he is strongly opposed to the suggestion of relocating the College’s athletic facilities to make way for one of the professional schools to move across the river.

“I don’t want athletes to have to take buses to get to their athletic facilities,” he says. “We can’t put our space out in Allston or Watertown because students won’t go there.”

At the Faculty Club

One pleasant Monday afternoon, the dean entertains several professors at an informal luncheon at the Faculty Club to discuss the freshman seminar program. The conversation, though awkward at first, soon relaxes as Gross invites the professors to talk about “what’s working, what’s not and what’s bad.”

“Let’s get to know one another,” he suggests.

Soon, the conversation turns into a liberal exchange of ideas and reflections on the professors’ experiences.

Seated at the head of the table, leaning back with hands folded in front of him, Gross presides over the casual conversation, nods, smiles and frowns while professors—from Professor of the History of Science Everett I. Mendelsohn to Beneficial Professor of Law Charles Fried—voice their suggestions for the program. Their ideas range from creating a more efficient application process to attracting more top professors.

Gross’ down-to-earth manner serves him well when dealing with other Faculty members.

When he agrees with a speaker, he presses his eyes closed and nods ardently.

When he gets worked up explaining something, he talks to his hands: holding them up like conflicting choices, he looks from one to the other as if trying to decide, eyebrows knitted, shoulders tensed.

Gross does like to talk: sometimes he can cut peoples’ thoughts short when he thinks they’ve misunderstood him, or when he is so excited about a subject he can’t hold back his ideas.