IN THE INTERIM

With Pfister and his subordinates playing a secondary role in the administration of the campaign, administrators said they were not worried about the lack of a permanent dean throughout these first few months of the capital campaign.

For one, Secretary of the Administrative Board John “Jay” L. Ellison said that even in this transition period in University Hall, College administrators are continuing with their regular duties.

“The work of the College doesn’t stop just because we have an interim dean,” Ellison said. “I would be disappointed in donors for whom it would make a difference, because the College is not one person.”

Furthermore, administrators and students said that Pfister’s low-key role in the campaign so far seems to track with the way previous College Deans have worked with fundraising.

“Going back, I don’t think that [Deans of the College] are expected to solicit for the campaign,” Dean of Freshmen Thomas A. Dingman ’67 said.

And students on the Capital Campaign Task Force, a group convened last year by former Undergraduate Council President Danny P. Bicknell ’13 to represent undergraduate voices regarding the campaign, said they have neither met with Hammonds nor Pfister in their past few months of work.

Still, administrators and students said they believe that if asked to do so, Pfister could be an effective ambassador for the campaign.

“I don't know much about Dean Pfister, but he sounds like a longstanding and distinguished advocate for Harvard,” task force member Michael E. Danto ’13-14 said. “His emails to the College community show humanity and a sense of humor, traits that are probably useful in fundraising.”

Administrators have similarly expressed their support for Pfister’s involvement in the capital campaign, citing his experience as a House master and his familiarity with several administrative divisions as strengths.

“I think Don Pfister would be a very persuasive voice for the College,” Dingman said. “ He has a nice sense of humor and a great understanding of the roles that we play.”

For his part, Pfister said he already knows many potential alumni donors from his days as master of Kirkland House in the 1980s and 1990s, and that, if asked, he could speak to issues that potential donors may find interesting.

ON THE HORIZON

But with Pfister not in the running for the permanent deanship, any active campaign advocacy from the Office of the Dean of the College will likely be taken up by his successor, who could potentially lead the College for the final four years of what is expected to be a five-year campaign.

In light of this, administrators said it could aid the campaign if the next permanent College Dean brings charisma and competence to the job, not least if the dean is asked to fundraise.