Hill House Dean Feld to leave post after semester

Tracy Feld, 30, has lived and worked in Hill House since 1992. Hill College House Dean Tracy Feld, a well-liked administrator in the mostly-freshman dormitory for six years, has resigned to pursue other interests, officials announced yesterday. The news comes just four months after Feld was appointed to coordinate various administrative and academic functions at the dorm under the University's new college house system. She refused to elaborate on why she resigned or what she will do after she leaves. Feld, 30, said she will stay at Hill until the end of the semester to give college house officials time to find a suitable replacement. She pointed out that 20 percent of all current undergraduates lived in Hill House at some point during the "Feld reign." "I don't know how much of a big deal this is in the whole scheme of things, but for me it's the end of an era," Feld said. Along with her husband Steve -- who teaches in the Graduate School of Education -- Feld, a Penn alumna, has lived in Hill since 1992. She held the positions of senior administrative fellow and assistant dean before being appointed house dean in June 1998, when the University launched the new college house system. "We are deeply grateful for Tracy's work during the critical transition period in starting up the new college house system," said Chris Dennis, executive director of College Houses and Academic Services. Dennis said there will be a farewell celebration in Feld's honor in December. Despite giving birth to her daughter Taylor last year, Feld said she did not resign to spend more time with her family, saying instead that it was simply "time to move on." A college house staffer familiar with the situation said he believes that a key reason for Feld's resignation may have been a growing sense of frustration in dealing with the "bureaucracy outside Hill House" in the residential living system. The college house office declined to comment on why Feld may have resigned, except to say that she wanted to devote her time to other things. Besides managing Hill House, Feld is a writer of short stories, which have been published in both the United States and abroad. College House Director David Brownlee, who was among the numerous officials who praised Feld's tenure in Hill, said he will conduct a national search to find a replacement. Jim O'Donnell, Hill's faculty master, said Feld and her husband -- who preceded her in the post -- had an extraordinary impact on Hill. He added that the middle of the academic year is a good time to change house deans, rather than in the middle of the spring semester. "If we can make do with me as Bob Lucid's replacement, we can find someone to succeed Tracy," he said, referring to his legendary predecessor, English Professor Robert Lucid, who designed an early version of the college house plan. As for the reason for Feld's resignation, O'Donnell said his colleague simply wanted to get on with her life. Feld said it was a tough decision. "What I will miss most is the daily interaction with some of Penn's terrific undergraduate and graduate students," Feld said. "I have learned so much from the young people I've met, and have gained by helping them where I could." One of those students, College sophomore Joe Gordon, a second-year Hill resident, said Feld will be missed because she knew the house so well, having lived there as an undergraduate herself.