Campus & Community

Co-House masters named for Currier House

3 min read

Richard Wrangham and Elizabeth Ross have been appointed co-House masters of Currier House, beginning July 1, for the 2008-09 academic year. Shahram and Laura Khoshbin served as interim co-House masters of Currier House in 2007-08.

Wrangham is Ruth Moore Professor of Anthropology in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and a Harvard College Professor. He received his B.A. from Oxford University and his Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Cambridge. Prior to joining the Harvard faculty in 1989, he was on the faculty of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Wrangham is widely regarded as a leading researcher in primate behavior and human evolution, and has taught classes on the evolution of human nature, primate behavior, and the biology of aggression. He is the founder and director of the Kibale Chimpanzee Project in Kibale National Park, Uganda, and is a trustee of the Jane Goodall Institute, the co-chair of the Great Ape World Heritage Species Project, and the president of the International Primatalogical Society.

Ross is the executive director of the Kasiisi Project, a nonprofit that she founded in 1997 to provide educational support to primary schools in western Uganda. Through its work, new buildings, classrooms, libraries, staff housing, and latrines have been built, and the group also provides scholarships for secondary school students, grants and training for teachers, health education, and school lunches. The education of more than 4,000 children in five schools is supported by the project. The Kasiisi Primary School, the first school targeted by the project, ranks third out of 140 rural schools in its district. Ross received her B.S. in biological sciences and her Ph.D. in immunology from Edinburgh University.

Wrangham and Ross have three children, and currently live in Weston, Mass.

“I welcome Richard and Elizabeth to their new role as co-House masters of Currier House, and I thank the Khoshbins for their able leadership this year and for their combined service of over four decades to Harvard students,” says David Pilbeam, dean of Harvard College. “The House system is the cornerstone of the undergraduate experience at Harvard, and the exemplary people affiliated with all of the Houses ensure that these vital communities continue to foster both intellectual and personal growth.”

Prior to their year as interim House masters, the Khoshbins were tutors-in-residence at Currier House. For more than 10 years, Laura was a member of the Currier House Pre-Law Advisory Committee; the majority of that time she served as chair. Shahram served as the chair of the Currier House Pre-Medical Advisory Committee for more than 30 years, and in that capacity advised thousands of future physicians. He is an associate professor of neurology at the Harvard Medical School and Laura is a senior attorney in the Office of General Counsel for Partners HealthCare System Inc.