Philosophy department faculty members Sean Kelly and Cheryl Chen have been named the new faculty deans of Dunster House, one of the twelve undergraduate residence houses at Harvard and "one of the first two dormitories constructed under President Lowell's House Plan." First opened in 1930, Dunster House recently underwent a 15-month long renewal project that added many new improvements to the house while also restoring many original features, such as the carved fireplace mantels of the house library.
As Dean of Harvard College Rakesh Khurana suggests, Kelly and Chen were obvious choices for the new faculty deans of Dunster House as both have demonstrated substantial interest in and commitment to the lives of Harvard undergraduates. Most recently, Chen has served as acting Head Tutor for the Department of Philosophy, where she has worked not only to improve the academic experience of undergraduate concentrators but also to increase their feeling of departmental community, something she has achieved by holding monthly lunches in the department library. Likewise Kelly serves as acting Associate Head Tutor and recently chaired the committee tasked with revising the college's general education program.
Kelly and Chen will take up their new positions in the fall of 2017 and will be joined by their two sons, Ben (12) and Nathaniel (7).