V.P. Rowe Stepping Down

By Ken Gewertz

Gazette Staff

Vice President for Government, Community, and Public Affairs James Rowe '73 is stepping down, effective Aug. 31. Rowe took up his duties at Harvard in 1994.

Rowe will return to his hometown of Washington, D.C. He plans to continue working on public policy issues after choosing from one of a handful of offers in the private sector.

"I am deeply grateful to President Neil L. Rudenstine for inviting me to join his administration," Rowe said. "It has been the experience of a lifetime, and no one has been blessed with a more interesting job. My college classmates who just celebrated their 25th Reunion here were uniformly impressed with the many wonders of today's Harvard. I thank all my colleagues for their wisdom, dedication, and daily accomplishments."

"Jim Rowe's energy, expertise, and leadership have helped guide Harvard through a period in which Harvard has faced significant challenges in the domains he has overseen," said President Rudenstine.

"He has worked creatively to advance the interests of higher education in Washington, doing an outstanding job in making the case for basic research and student aid. He has been engaged in the University's important dealings with our neighboring communities. And he has helped steer our news and public affairs operation during a time of close scrutiny of higher education. Throughout his years here, for me personally, he has been a thoughtful adviser, valued colleague, and friend."

Rudenstine said that Jane Corlette, associate vice president for

government, community, and public affairs, has agreed to serve as Acting Vice President upon Rowe's departure this summer. He added that a search is under way to identify a successor to Rowe as promptly as possible. A job description appears in the Opportunities section of this issue of the Gazette.

As a lobbyist for Harvard and for higher education in general, Rowe was instrumental in counteracting efforts to reduce federal funding for research and student aid brought on by the change in party control of Congress. Funding levels are now up across the University, student aid is a bipartisan priority, and Harvard is in the forefront of a variety of successful legislative coalitions.

As head of public affairs, Rowe refocused resources and personnel to better serve external audiences. The Gazette's science stories are now being republished in more than 150 news publications, and external media inquiries (which Harvard receives in greater abundance than any other university in the world) are now handled more responsively and expeditiously. The newly renovated Events & Information Center provides multimedia information to tens of thousands of visitors, both in person and online.

In the area of community relations, Rowe has overseen the daily educational, volunteer, and charitable collaboration with surrounding neighbors that has always been the hallmark of Harvard's Community Affairs Office. Initiatives have included the fashioning with Harvard Planning and Real Estate of an affordable housing program for the city of Cambridge, the ongoing and successful Harvard Business School's master planning process with the city of Boston, and the beginning of discussions with neighbors about the future planning of the Allston properties.

Rowe, a native of Washington, received his A.B., cum laude, in 1973 from Harvard, where he concentrated in history and lived at Lowell House. He earned his J.D. degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1979.

Before his Harvard appointment, Rowe worked as the top corporate officer in Washington for the National Broadcasting Company Inc. (NBC), where he oversaw all legislative, regulatory, and related legal activities affecting NBC before Congress, the Federal Communications Commission, and other administrative agencies. Rowe's career on Capitol Hill began on the so-called Senate Watergate Committee after he graduated in 1973, and concluded with his service as chief counsel for the U.S. House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime and Criminal Justice, where he helped pass the "Brady Bill" gun control measure and shaped numerous crime prevention measures. Rowe also practiced law in New York City and Washington.

Rowe has held positions on numerous boards, including the U.S. Committee to Expand NATO, Hospice Care of the District of Columbia, the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, the National Association of Broadcasters, as well as serving as chairman of the Community Gifts through Harvard Campaign.

Rowe is married to Lisa Adams, an interior designer who heads her own firm in Washington. Adams, a 1976 graduate of Yale, rejoiced in painting the front door of their former residence in Cambridge "Yale" blue. They have two children, Christopher, 10, and Lucia, 7.