In fall 2008, Heenan arrived as the first Vice President for Public Affairs and Communications. A former White House analyst in the Clinton Administration who went on to start her own public relations firms and consult for other Ivy League institutions, Heenan came to Harvard with a wealth of public relations experience.

Following Heenan's arrival, in the 2010-2011 school year a branch of the government and community affairs division of the Office of Government, Community, and Public Affairs was moved from Brattle Street to its new home alongside the Harvard News Office, also part of the OGCPA, in the Holyoke Center, and the newly unified office was named Harvard Public Affairs and Communications.

As communications officers for distinct parts of the University assembled together in Holyoke, spokespeople that once worked with their own standards were brought into line, allowing for a more streamlined message machine. HPAC's growth also included the hiring of staff, who, liked Heenan, possessed long and decorated resumes in public relations, consulting, and government.

HPAC's growth also included the hiring of staff, who, like Heenan, possessed long and decorated resumes in public relations, consulting, and government.

POLISHING THE MESSAGE

Today, although Harvard's most powerful leaders have the right to speak out for themselves, they most often do so with the help of HPAC.

But this was not always so. Harry R. Lewis '68, who was Dean of the College from 1995 to 2003, said that he almost never had a communications officer present before or during an interview. Likewise, during his four-year tenure as FAS Dean from 2002 to 2006, William C. Kirby said that he rarely had a spokesperson accompany him on interviews and never pre-screened questions.

Decision makers, once relatively unconcerned with communicating with media on their own, today can choose to be carefully prepared and coached through interviews and public appearances to polish their delivery. According to Heenan, the primary objective of HPAC's interactions with administrators has been to ensure accuracy, consistency, and, if requested, assistance and instruction on dealing with the press.

As the current administration has come of age over the past half decade, its individual members, from University President Drew G. Faust to Dean of the College Evelynn M. Hammonds, have given HPAC a role in the way they communicate with the press and the broader Harvard community.

In scheduled sit-down and phone interviews with The Crimson, top-level administrators including the President, the Provost, Vice Presidents, the Dean of FAS, and the Dean of the College are almost invariably accompanied by a press person. Outside of these formal interview settings, a call or email to these administrators will often be redirected to HPAC. Reporters from The Boston Globe and The New York Times who cover news related to Harvard declined or did not respond to requests for comment on their interactions with Harvard communications officers.

But as a consequence of the increased involvement of press people and lawyers with the professors at the top of the University hierarchy, Graduate School of Education professor Howard E. Gardner '65 said, “There is the sense that so many decisions are not being made by people who are primarily academics.”

While HPAC representatives work closely with administrators, they largely stay out of faculty affairs—except when asked.

Biology professor Daniel E. Lieberman has sought out that support, primarily, he said, when he and his colleagues are releasing significant research papers. He and other professors agree that HPAC can be a powerful tool in communicating scholarly work and complex ideas.

“Often journalists need someone to help them interpret that paper,” said Lieberman, whose studies have been publicized by the Gazette. “And the Harvard press office has been wonderful about that.”

While communications officers groom University leaders and largely leave faculty members alone, lower-level administrators and staff members are sometimes told by administrators not to have any contact with journalists at all.