"Archie's role is one of great subtlety," Daniels says. "Institutionally [he is] the bridge between students and the administration which means [he has] to be an advocate for both.... I think we had an appreciation for his position."

Daniels, who is a Crimson editor, says he does not begrudge Epps for his loyalty to the University and his criticism of the student protesters. "I had faith in Archie, so it didn't bother me. It was our task to press the institution. He was a member of the administration."

Much has changed, Daniels says, since the decade following the protests.

"The undergraduate community is a much better place than what I sensed it was in the mid-'80s. A lot of black students didn't feel comfortable," Daniels says. "Things needed to change."

They did, Daniels says, "probably because Archie and people like him pushed for it."

As Epps winds up his 25th year as dean of students, he says he is resolutely committed to the needs of minority students and still believes firmly in the cause of diversity.

"The real test of whether you contribute to the race is whether your presence in the University has increased the number of people in your position," he says.

'Grand Old Man'

Although Epps arrived at the College as a young man, he is now the longest-standing resident of University Hall. "I still feel very young, but I'm realizing that I've forgotten more history than most people know," says Epps. "I like being the elder statesman."

His long tenure has enabled him to form close ties with many of the students who attended the College.

"When I think of the number of Harvard students who have gotten to know him over the years, it is a network of friendships which stretches really around the world," says Richard M. Hunt, the University marshal, who has known Epps for 30 years.

"I don't think his values have changed or his way of interacting with people," says Fox. "I think he came here because Harvard represented something to him and his family, and that hasn't changed."

The last year, however, has been the most difficult in Epps' life. In February 1995, he was passed over for dean of the College in favor of Harry R. Lewis '68.

Although Epps says he expected a member of the faculty to be selected rather than a person from within the administration, he was disappointed that he did not get the post.

"I thought about being head of the College, but then the trend recently has been to appoint teaching faculty," he says.