Chopra says he is confident that the new administration will listen to the council, but is unsure whether their priorities will reflect the issues students care about.

Former Council President Paul A. Gusmorino ’02—widely regarded as a leader in the council’s shift towards student services—says that the attention Lewis gave the group was a key part of making the council relevant.

“The danger is that there won’t be a major figure in University Hall thinking deeply and broadly about the holistic undergraduate experience,” Gusmorino says. “The U.C. needs to be particularly vigilant.”

Council member Jason L. Lurie ’05 says he is worried that a dean with increased focus on academic life will weaken the council’s role.

“I’m concerned about the future of the council,” he says.

Lewis’ relationship with the council, now spanning nearly eight years, has not always been smooth.

Indeed, Lewis began his term as dean with a series of changes to college life to which students were largely opposed.

In his first six months as dean, Lewis randomized the housing lottery, reorganized public service at the College and effected a more stringent alcohol policy, all of which sparked criticism from student leaders.

In 1999, council leaders opposed Lewis’ decision to cut the size of blocking groups from sixteen to eight.

More recently, Lewis’ decision to ban kegs at Harvard athletic events came under vicious student criticism.

“He could sometimes be brash,” says council member Alexander B. Patterson ’03.

Patterson recalls that he wrote Lewis a letter to complain about what Patterson says were Lewis’ abrupt answers to student questions at a council meeting last year.

“He sent me an e-mail back and took me out to lunch, to try to explain himself and his style,” he says.

Despite occassional conflicts, council leaders credit Lewis for his willingness to take on the minutiae of undergraduate life.

“I think it’s true that Rohit and his predecessors all had easy access to me,” says Lewis, who admits with a laugh that he wasn’t aware until recently that he is officially the council’s faculty advisor.