New Tutelage

Walsh said he was excited about the position but apprehensive, too. As a resident tutor he was not responsible for the academic status and health and well-being of every inhabitant of the House—on top of his responsibilities to his entryway.

“I will still retain all of my advisees—that was sort of a given for me from the get-go,” he said.

Walsh said he had planned on entering the job market after completing his dissertation in November, but is now looking forward to the possibility of becoming senior tutor full time.

“It’s a great position because it lets me see if dean work is something I want to pursue in the future but still pursue my academic career,” he said.

At the end of the term, the House will begin a search for a full time senior tutor. And though Walsh won’t be guaranteed the spot, a recommendation from the House Masters will help, according to Dingman.

“There will still be a full search,” he said. “There are considerations that are more college-based, like the makeup of the administrative board, and while he might—and I expect he will—have great success in the House, there might be other people with very strong teaching credentials, or significant experience, who will make this real competition.”

Walsh, a sixth-year graduate student, is in the midst of completing his dissertation in 20th century Francophone Literature from North Africa and the Caribbean, with a focus on “colonial childhood.”

Asked whether he will bring his research to bear on his work as senior tutor, he joked, “We’re all working through our childhoods, aren’t we?”

—Staff writer David B. Rochelson can be reached at rochels@fas.harvard.edu.