David Brownlee, a key player in the creation of the college house system in 1998, will step down as director of College Houses and Academic Services this May.
Brownlee, an Art History professor and Faculty Master of Harnwell College House, has served as the college house system's leader for all three and a half years of its existence.
Brownlee said he is pleased with the work he has done within the college house system but felt this was a natural time for him to step down, as he will be coming off academic leave at the close of the semester.
"In fairly simple terms, the overall structure [is] work that I'm very proud to have accomplished," Brownlee said. He added that the system is "a flexible and strong framework that allows quite a large number of people to define their own space and to fulfill their own dreams for programs and activities."
At the end of the semester, Brownlee's position will be effectively split into two jobs -- a director and a faculty director of college houses.
Stouffer College House Faculty Master and Legal Studies Professor Philip Nichols has been selected by Provost Robert Barchi to take over as faculty director. The position of director has just been advertised and a national search will be conducted to fill it.
Brownlee said he is turning over the reins to a worthy successor, calling Nichols "an exemplary faculty master" and extolling his "originality."
"I look forward very much to working for him in the years ahead," Brownlee said.
Brownlee will stay on as faculty master of Harnwell until 2004, when his term expires.
As faculty director, Nichols will provide the academic leadership for the college house system, supervising the house staff as they work on advising and support programs.
Nichols is currently teaching in Mongolia as a Fulbright Scholar and was unavailable for comment last night, but college house staff members expressed satisfaction with his appointment.
"David is an extraordinary person and I am very sorry that he's stepping down," Spruce College House Faculty Master Helen Davies said. "Phil is such an outstanding human being and a great academic that my consolation is, I'm getting Phil."
Hamilton College House Faculty Master Jay Riese also praised Brownlee, calling him "legendary," but said he was enthusiastic about the prospect of working under Nichols.
"He's a wonderful person, very extroverted, full of ideas, full of vitality," Riese said. "I think he'll do a terrific job here."
The new director of college houses will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the college house system and will report to both Nichols and Deputy Provost Peter Conn.
"I think what is now clear [is that] the job now falls into some sensibly separable parts and when we were first starting, all of it seemed to be an inseparable totality," Brownlee said of the new division of labor.
Brownlee wrote the original report on implementing the college house system in 1997. Since then, he has faced constant challenges in creating the sort of system he envisioned.
For instance, financial troubles for Dining Services have made it difficult to maintain a community-focus in the dining halls, and the University had to shut down Stouffer Dining Hall over the summer.
And Penn's aging residential buildings, which were not initially designed to accommodate a college house system, have constituted a considerable set of obstacles.
"Working within the limitations of architecture that was not built for this purpose has been one of the great challenges," Brownlee said.
