Indeed, no Harvard president has ever been buried at the plot, though Kirkland has a monument there.

Most of the plot’s newcomers are members of Harvard’s faculty.

The last four people to be buried at Harvard Hill—founder of the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies Albert Szabo, Associate Dean of Freshmen Burris Young ’55, Rawls and Epps—spent a cumulative total of 138 years working at Harvard.

But few current senior faculty members seemed to know about the existence of the plot or how to be buried there.

Eight University professors contacted for this article said they did not know how to go about securing a spot on Harvard Hill. Of those eight, six said they had never heard of the plot, which serves as the final resting place for 36 people.

And many Harvard affiliates still forgo the privilege of being buried on the hill, in favor of their family plots.

Dean of the Faculty William C. Kirby says he plans to be buried at his family’s plot in Stamford, Conn. Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71 says he is unsure where his ashes will end up, but that their destination will not be Harvard Hill.

Like Kirby, Gomes says he plans to be buried at his family’s plot in Plymouth, Mass.

“I’ve given my life to Harvard,” he says. “I do not wish to give my body to Harvard.”

—Staff writer Joseph M. Tartakoff can be reached at tartakof@fas.harvard.edu.