Four scholars whose academic interests include African art, Indian secularism, medieval history, and women in ancient Rome have been named Allston Burr Senior Tutors in the undergraduate Houses.

Rena Fonseca will live in Mather House, Sarolta Takács will be in Winthrop House, Nathaniel Taylor has been assigned to Dunster House, and Mark Bessire will reside in Adams House.

"We are very fortunate to have as the incoming senior tutors individuals with such strong academic interests who are also devoted to advancing student welfare in the Houses," said Dean of Harvard College Harry R. Lewis.

Senior tutors serve as the deans of the Houses and are responsible for overseeing the well-being of individual students in Harvard's 13 Houses.

Collectively, the new tutors possess a significant amount of classroom experience, reflecting one of the goals outlined in a 1994 report on the structure of the College. The report recommended that efforts be made to attract more seasoned academics, such as teaching members of the faculty, to senior tutorships.

Fonseca is a fellow at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies who is working on a book called Whither India?: Indian Secularism and its Discontents. She earned a Ph.D. in history from Harvard in 1991, was a lecturer on history in 1991-92, and is developing a history course on religion and politics in contemporary India. This is not her first stint as senior tutor; she held the post in Cabot House from 1987 to 1993.

Takács, an associate professor of the classics, has been teaching at Harvard since 1993. She received a Ph.D. in ancient history from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1992, and her research interests include Roman religion, Latin literature, and Roman social history.

Taylor is a lecturer on history and literature who earned his Ph.D. in history from Harvard in 1995. Over the past two years, he taught tutorials on medieval literature and history. As senior tutor at Dunster, Taylor will return to the House where he lived as an undergraduate.

Bessire was assistant senior tutor in Adams House last year, as well as co-curator of "The Art of Identity: African Sculpture from the Teel Collection" at the Fogg Museum. He holds a master's degree in art history from the City University of New York, and an M.B.A. in public and nonprofit management from Columbia University (1994). He will be acting senior tutor for the coming year.