“I edit a journal, which I will stop doing next year,” Harris says, “I have a couple of book projects under contract which will take a little longer, [but] neither of the Cores are projected to be particularly large and I’ve done them both a number of times. I don’t worry about that.”

One issue of major significance to some students is that Jay and Cheryl Harris are Jewish.

In a letter to the editor published in The Crimson in April, Hillel’s Vice President for Community Relations Julia Appel ’04 wrote that “[a]s the first Orthodox Jewish House Master, Professor Jay Harris is breaking a very significant barrier, in addition to being among the very first Jewish House Masters appointed.”

Harris, however, says he does not see his appointment as breaking barriers.

“I would think at this point all the remnants of the discriminatory aspects of Harvard have largely disappeared,” he says. “Obviously there are political issues that come up from time to time that are not always justified...[but] I don’t think it’s a really big deal any more.”

Cheryl Harris says she agrees, adding that while their religion is important to them they do not see it as a point of controversy.

“It’s an opportunity for people to get more acquainted with the traditional Jewish lifestyle [but] I think [some] think it is more of an issue than it is. For us it’s a non-issue,” she says.

Two of the couple’s three children will be moving into the Cabot House masters’ residence with their parents.

Becky Harris is a high-school sophomore, and David Harris is finishing the seventh grade. Their oldest child, Elana, is currently a sophomore at Oberlin University.

Cheryl Harris said that David and Becky were excited about the move, but that Elana was slightly annoyed that her parents had waited to do something “this cool” until after she had left the nest.

Harris said that her younger children would continue at their current schools.

Susan Livingston, assistant to the Cabot House masters, says she is looking forward to working with the couple.

“He’s a really adept listener and wants to hear all sides of an issue,” Livingston says. “You come away having met with him feeling validated even though he may not have agreed with you, which is what I liked so much about [Former Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis ’68].”

—Staff writer Michael A. Mohammed can be reached at mohammed@fas.harvard.edu.