But soon it became clear that the administrative end of the review was a full-time job, and Wolcowitz—whom Gross called the “logical choice” for the position—would need somebody to free up more time for him to manage the day-to-day aspects of the review.

“We realized we hadn’t prepared for the amount of work the review required,” Wolcowitz says.

In January, former freshman seminar director Elizabeth Doherty took over managing the administrative end of undergraduate education.

And after months of pouring over information and suggestions, Wolcowitz did what he does best.

He distilled his experience and knowledge to churn out the 67-page “Report on the Harvard College Curriculum.”

“It was very much a collective process—but in terms of who put the pen to the paper—or, rather, the fingers to the keyboard—that was largely me,” Wolcowitz says.

MR. MANAGER

Wolcowitz calls himself a “permanent bureaucrat” or a “manager”—with reservations. (The former descriptor has “bad connotations”; the latter sounds too “managerial.”) But his seat on the Allston planning committee ensures that his job extends well beyond resource allocation and course planning.

Even his former colleagues rush to qualify any terms used to describe Wolcowitz.

“If he is a bureaucrat,” Todd says, “he is also the only bureaucrat who thought it was his job to make people’s jobs easier.”

Wolcowitz says he expects to stay at the forefront of the curricular review next year and sit on one of the committees that will further scrutinize the report’s recommendations.

“I’m not exactly sure what will happen to me, but I’m not particularly concerned,” Wolcowitz says.

One thing that is for sure is that Wolcowitz, who relocated in January to Gross’ former office, will move downstairs with his two-person staff to the basement level of University Hall this summer to make room for more reconfigurations in administrators’ office space.

—Staff writer Rebecca D. O’Brien can be reached at robrien@fas.harvard.edu.