ARCHIE C. EPPS

Archie C. Epps III, who served for 28 years as Harvard’s last dean of students, died on Aug. 21, of complications from heart surgery. He was 66.

Colleagues remember Epps as an advocate for improving student life, a dean who was unafraid to stand alone in policy debates and a central figure in improving race relations at the College.

During his tenure as dean of students, which spanned from 1971 until 1999, Epps presided over a host of changes concerning student life: Final clubs lost official College recognition, the Undergraduate Council was instituted, the first-year dining hall was moved from the Freshman Union to Memorial Hall and Loker Commons was constructed.

Even his departure constituted a change, as former Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis ’68 dissolved the dean of students post after Epps stepped down.

As an associate dean in 1969, Epps experienced firsthand the social upheavals on campus during the tumultuous period. When University Hall was taken over by the Students for a Democratic Society, Epps resisted the takeover and was physically carried out of the building by the students.

“He guided the College with a steadying hand through turbulent seas and in calm waters, he nudged the administration with wisdom and vast experience, and he elicited true affection and respect from both the students and his colleagues in University Hall,” former Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles said in a statement.

One of the most prominent black administrators at the College, Epps attempted to facilitate race relations on campus.

Epps edited a book, The Speeches of Malcolm X at Harvard, which was published in 1967 and reissued in 1991.

Epps’ stances, however, did not always coincide with those of black student leaders on campus. He expressed opposition to the approach of reformers who focused solely on racial matters.

Epps was unafraid to be an outspoken advocate of his policy stances, often throwing his weight behind projects opposed by Lewis and publicly disagreeing with his boss about the nature and aim of Harvard’s undergraduate education. He prided himself on independent thought.

“I come out of the tradition of the solitary dean,” Epps said.

In 1984, Epps oversaw the stripping of official College recognition from final clubs and fraternities not permitting membership from both genders, and in 1997, he issued a report that condemned the clubs.

At the same time, Epps said it was difficult “for students to meet each other” and acknowledged “a weakness in social life” that led him to push for the creation of Loker Commons.

JOHN T. DUNLOP

John T. Dunlop, a preeminent labor economist who served as U.S. secretary of labor under President Ford and as dean of the Faculty, died on Oct. 2. He was 89.