For Crate Herbert and Ian Miller, the decision to serve as Faculty Deans of Cabot House came easily.
Herbert, Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Wentworth Institute of Technology, saw the role as an opportunity to learn, grow, and contribute to the transformational power of higher education. Miller, the Professor of History and Affiliate Professor of both History of Science and East Asian Languages and Civilizations, understood the position as a means of fostering a special kind of community specific to Cabot House.
“It was the House motto that initially drew us in,” Miller said. “We think about Semper cor, or ‘always heart,’ as radical kindness. It is the idea that excellence is not the exception to kindness, but integral to it. It is the idea that openness is fundamental to what it means to be a Harvard student and also to what we can bring to the world from this remarkable place. These ideas just set us on fire. Cabot truly had us at ‘hello'.”
Herbert and Miller first met as undergraduates at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, where they became deeply committed to the school’s values of social justice, equity, fairness, and the transformational power of higher education. At Harvard, Miller channels these values into his teaching and research, which focuses on both Japanese and environmental history. Herbert, whose current role at Wentworth started this month, previously pursued a career as an opera singer, conducted important fundraising work at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and served as the Executive Director of Development at the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS).
Though Herbert and Miller have only been Faculty Deans since September, they have already nurtured and expanded the culture of kindness that exists within Cabot by caring for their students, both in and away from the House.
“Every day is a new challenge. The House has had to flex to meet these challenges in ways that we've been privileged to be a part of,” Miller said. “We have been so impressed with the tutors, who have done a remarkable job reaching out to students. The students, likewise, have rallied around one another and met these challenges with the kind of excellence that we often talk about with Harvard. It has been difficult, but we are eager to be supportive of folks who may feel lost or isolated. It's really a large part of the mission for us.”
The couple spend much of their free time with their 16-year-old son Liam, watching new television shows together or at Liam's high school basketball games. Herbert enjoys listening to music, walking, and dancing, while Miller can often be found cooking. They especially look forward to traveling to Asia once it is safe to do so.
As they enter their second semester as Faculty Deans, they continue to be inspired not only by the House’s motto, students, and staff, but also by their original goals, which they hope will add even greater value to the Cabot community.
“Cabot cares. Cabot connects. Cabot creates. These characteristics of the House are what make it so special. We hope to nurture this culture, and improve upon it in any ways we can,” Miller said.
“And we hope to have fun. We strive to practice not only radical kindness, but also ‘welcoming excellence,’” Herbert added.