At the end of this semester, Howard Stevenson will step down from his post as W.E.B. DuBois College House faculty master in order to pursue research projects.
Stevenson, a Graduate School of Education associate professor, leaves the college house system after eight years in his current position.
Many of his colleagues said that Stevenson's presence in the dormitory will be greatly missed.
College Houses and Academic Services Director David Brownlee said Stevenson's affectionate nature has been a strong force in DuBois.
"I think that the enduring impact that Professor Stevenson has brought to the house is his personality," Brownlee said. "His wonderful integrity, his wonderful gentleness, his wonderful kindness -- those characteristics have imbued the house."
Brownlee went on to say that one of Stevenson's most admirable qualities is his dedication to research, which is the main reason for Stevenson's departure.
"One of the things I admire most is the involvement of the house in a variety of research projects," he said. "His own research has to some extent been located in the house, and he has... ensured that the house is a kind of showcase for research."
Stevenson could not be reached for comment last night.
Stevenson will remain busy after departing DuBois. He plans to undertake two major research projects with grants he recently received from the National Institute of Mental Health. He also hopes to complete a book entitled If We Must Die: Appreciating the Coping Anger of Black Male Youth Through Cultural Socialization and Athletic Movement.
Brownlee said that Stevenson is leaving DuBois because of the enormous amounts of work these grants will entail.
"He has won two very large grants for which he is the principal investigator," Brownlee said.
One research project, Preventing Long-Term Anger and Aggression in Youth, aims to study how to reduce anger and aggression in teenage males through cultural socialization and athletic movement.
The other, Success of African-American Students, involves promoting successful academic and emotional experiences of African-American students in independent schools.
According to Brownlee, the search for a new faculty master for DuBois will begin soon.
"We'll conduct a search, we'll put together a search committee with faculty, students and staff on it, and we'll make a recommendation to the Provost," Brownlee said. "We will aim to have someone in place by the beginning of next fall."
DuBois College House staff members said that Stevenson has helped turn DuBois into a home away from home for residents.
DuBois Graduate Associate Tia Jackson, a first-year social work graduate student, said Stevenson supports the tightly knit community of DuBois in many ways.
"He's been like a fatherly type, a mentor type you can go to with any problems you have," she said.
Jackson added that Stevenson's tenure added much-needed consistency to the house, since Patricia Williams was only recently appointed as DuBois house dean.
"He knows how the house is run," she said. "He's definitely had a good role in the house as far as the backbone."
Jackson said that she felt personally welcomed by Stevenson from the moment she set foot in the door.
"When school first started, he would invite the staff to have potlucks in his room," she said. "It was really nice to be invited into his space. It was just really like a homey, welcoming type feeling."
"I really felt connected to him," Jackson added. "I'm going to miss him."
