Incoming Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71 said this week that addressing issues of alcohol consumption on campus will be among his top priorities when he assumes his post in July.

Calling alcohol a “gigantic” problem, Gross said that the College needs to find ways to curb underage and irresponsible drinking and that he intends to begin studying the issue this summer.

While the curricular review Gross initiated as dean of undergraduate education will likely be his main focus next year, Gross’ comments are the first indication of his priorities for the non-academic side of his newly created deanship.

As dean, Gross will head the formerly-separate offices of undergraduate education and the College—offices which were merged with the ouster of Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis ’68 in March.

The choice of alcohol as an early priority may prove to be a controversial one. Lewis was blasted at times during his eight-year tenure for various efforts to tighten Harvard’s policies on alchohol.

In his first six months as dean, a strong push by Lewis to curtail alcohol abuse was met with substantial criticism.

Gross has said that he will use the carrot rather than the stick to battle the problem, saying that he hopes to offer more social opportunities and spaces for students so that they would be less likely to resort to alcohol in their leisure time.

“We need to find a policy that works better, we need to talk about responsible behavior,” Gross said.

Harvard’s culture must be changed “so that intoxication is not viewed as a reasonable way to spend an evening,” Gross wrote in an e-mail.

Gross also referenced the Leaning Committee’s study of sexual assault at Harvard, which emphasized the link between intoxication and the incidence of rape and other acts of sexual violence.

According to studies cited in the report, 55 to 80 percent of sexual assault victims and 26 to 55 percent of perpetrators had been drinking.

Gross said he has no concrete program in mind, but plans to work with Lewis and Provost Steven E. Hyman this summer to begin to structure a new approach.

But he has already formulated thoughts on one avenue he intends to pursue.

“There needs to be more communal student space,” Gross said, adding that students face a “1 a.m. choice”—the decision of what to do after officially sanctioned parties end at 1 a.m.

Better education, he said is also key.