Although administrative efforts have successfully increased the number of minority professors over the past 20 years, these advances take time, says Adams House Master John G. “Sean” Palfrey ’67. A change in the makeup of the senior faculty will take years to affect the composition of the House Masters, he says.
And even as the tenured faculty becomes more diverse, Palfrey says these minority faculty members must be interested in taking on all the responsibilities of leading an undergraduate House, which can be difficult to balance with academic commitments.
“They just may not want to share their life with 450 screaming kids,” he says.
But ultimately, the goal of bringing diversity to the House Masters goes hand in hand with the goal of bringing diversity to the College and FAS.
“This is such a key part of the mission of Harvard College,” says Dean of Student Life Suzy M. Nelson. “It’s integral to our values.”
—Melody Y. Hu, Eric P. Newcomer, Noah S. Rayman, and Elyssa A. L. Spitzer contributed to the reporting of this article.
—Staff writer Danielle J. Kolin can be reached at dkolin@fas.harvard.edu.
—Staff writer Naveen N. Srivatsa can be reached at srivatsa@fas.harvard.edu.