This project explores the effective organizational development of the Harvard Foundation through expert and empirical interviews with Harvard Foundation interns, Student Advisory Committee (SAC) board members, staff, administration, and leaders of student cultural organizations on campus. These interviews analyze the role of the Foundation on campus, interactions among the different branches of the Foundation, and the impact of administrative decisions. This is to better understand how to build the Foundation’s capacity to change and achieve greater effectiveness by developing, improving, or reinforcing strategies and structures to better serve the current needs and demands of historically marginalized students on campus.

Through these interviews, I find four key findings and recommendations: 

1.  Establish a Institutionalized Partnership Among Student Interns and Administration

• Student interns expressed dissatisfaction with impactful administrative decisions that are taken without their consultation. This includes the merger with the Diversity Peer Educators and the most recent decision to decrease the number of interns for the upcoming fall semester from 18 to 12-14 interns.
• This has resulted in a large feeling of distrust from the interns towards the administration. Interns expressed the need for transparency.

• Ensure interns are incorporated in administrative discussions regarding the Foundation.
• This includes creating a small committee of interns, including four or five interns, that meet monthly with administration to review the work and goals of the Foundation. This small committee must also be included in any discussions regarding possible governing decisions to communicate the needs and desires of the intern team. These interns can then report back to the rest of the intern team at staff meetings.
• Ensure administration at the Dean of Students Office provides weekly office hours and check-ins for interns to improve transparency and allow interns to develop connections with administration that involve trust. Every intern must be required to stop by at least once to speak to administration.

2.  Establish Clear, Cohesive, and Consistent Communication Among the Different Branches of the Foundation

• Student interns and SAC board members both expressed a lack of communication and collaboration among both teams even though they both are a part of the Foundation.
• Both expressed that collaboration could result in benefits for both groups in terms of building the capacity and visibility of the Foundation. Student interns could more easily describe and promote the work of the SAC and vice versa while also collaborating on programming for student cultural or ethnic organizations.

• Implement a monthly meeting with Foundation interns and SAC board members to ensure effective communication and collaboration.
• Have Foundation interns and SAC board members establish clear, cohesive, and consistent communication regularly through a groupchat on any platform of choice and have each group report a 5 minute maximum summary of any important programming at their respective staff meetings.

3.  Creation of a Welcoming Physical Space for All Student Cultural and Ethnic Organizations and Historically Marginalized Students on  Campus

• Student cultural organization leaders and interns expressed the desire for a welcoming physical space that can be utilized by various cultural and ethnic organizations to collaborate and host events or meetings.

• Create a reservation system that has a simple interface for student organizations to reserve the various rooms in Grays for meetings or events. Keep a copy of this schedule at the entrance of the Foundation so students who walk in can know when rooms are unavailable.
• Incorporate more furniture, including pillows and bean bags, to provide more space for students and have the space become comfortable even just for studying or hanging out. Also, include clear instructions on how to connect your laptop to the television in the main room for students to use. Also, redecorate the space with uplifting, inspirational posters and seasonal decorations to make it more inviting and pleasant.

4. Prioritize the Mental and Emotional Well Being of Student Interns Through Self-Care Practice and Team Development Activities

• Student interns repeatedly expressed frustration and anger toward large, impactful administrative decisions which resulted in unnecessary emotional and mental burden. However, there is a pressure to remain as an intern and endure this burden because it is expected that historically marginalized students advocate for themselves because otherwise no one will. Yet, several interns were so frustrated with the administrative decisions that they quit the internship.
• In addition, now that the intern team has expanded, interns described a larger workload as original programming from both groups is implemented. However, now because of the recent administrative decision, the number of interns will need to be reduced and interns now have to wonder whether they can return and continue their work as an intern.

• Ensure that the intern team is not reduced. The workload of the Foundation has increased as two different groups have been brought together and programming from both groups is still expected to occur. The intern team must be larger to ensure effective implementation of the programming. A smaller intern team would face an even greater workload which may increase the mental and emotional burden.
• Prioritize and provide sufficient funding for the self-care of student interns through practices such as meditation, journaling, and exercise. For example, this can include a group bonding activity to a yoga class.
• Check in with interns once a month. This can be called a well-being check in and can include ensuring that student interns feel supported and comfortable within the internship program.