The community builders
When the leadership of Harvard College changes hands later this summer from interim Dean Donald Pfister to incoming Dean Rakesh Khurana, undergraduates will find that while the life experiences and research backgrounds of the two couldn’t be more different, their focus on the job of dean is the same. Both Pfister and Khurana believe strongly that an important role for the dean is to foster and build the College community of learning. “My goals were modest in a way, but they were really about reaching out and connecting with the students, and working within the College to make sure we weren’t merely in a transition, but moving the College forward,” said Pfister, the Asa Gray Professor of Systematic Botany. “When I think about the year, a lot of what we have been able to do has been about community, which is good because that is where I started when I came in.” Pfister...