The Heads of House are integral to the smooth operation and well-being of residential life at Ashdown House. As liaisons between the residents, the student leadership, and MIT Housing, Heads of House work tirelessly to ensure life in Ashdown is enjoyable, safe, and inclusive. Their work includes advising the Ashdown House Executive Committee (AHEC) and Officer Committees to help develop community-building activities, as well as host their own events such as Open Houses, Boston outings, and residential activities like gardening workshops. They work with the House Manager, Facilities staff, and Housing staff to advocate for student concerns as well as communicate policy changes. They also engage with residents to ensure compliance to policies and supporting healthy well-being within the residence. They give council to students on academics and careers, mental health, medical issues, neighbor issues, discipline, and personal issues, thus acting as reliable in-house accessible support for graduate students. Basically, they do everything and more, in addition to having impressive careers and raising awesome families!
Prof. Adam Berinsky & Dr. Deirdre Logan, Heads of House
We Heads of Ashdown House have the privilege of living with you here at Ashdown. Allow us to introduce ourselves: Adam, Professor in Political Science, studies public opinion and political behavior, and Deirdre, Licensed Clinical Psychologist who works at Boston Children’s Hospital. We have two children—Benjamin and Lila. Along with the six Román children, the eight “House Kids” of Ashdown enjoy living with and interacting with our grad student residents, so we hope you will get to know them as well as the adults of the Heads of House families.
Perhaps you wonder what we do here in the residence? As Heads of House we strive to be a part of life at Ashdown in many ways. We host our own events to help foster the sense of community that makes Ashdown the special place that it is. We attend many of the other events that go on in the dorm so we can get to know as many residents as possible. We work closely with the Ashdown House Executive Committee (AHEC) to help them with the daily operations of life in this large student community. We are also here to help residents solve problems or crises, large or small, whether these are related to life at Ashdown or not. We are called upon by residents to discuss ways to live more peacefully with roommates, to help manage stress or deal with academic challenges, or to help find resources on the MIT campus or beyond.
There will be many special events within Ashdown throughout the year, so please check the events calendars and come out to get to know your fellow residents! The students on AHEC and the house Officers work hard to plan interesting and fun events. Be sure to join us on Thursdays from 9 to 10 pm in the Hulsizer Room (First Floor) for Coffee Hour. Coffee Hour has been an Ashdown tradition for over 40 years, a time to meet other residents and socialize with friends. Ashdown Sunday brunch is a popular monthly event with great food. Deirdre will be collaborating with MIT student services to provide some in house programs on wellness throughout the year. Our in-house Residential Scholars work closely with Katie and our Residential Scholar Coordinator to provide some great cultural programming. We hope you will join us at these and other events so that we can get to know each other and we can serve as resources for you.
One of the things that makes Ashdown House feel like home is the active participation by so many residents in House activities. We hope that you will become involved in the many social and cultural events here. Being an active part of the Ashdown community is the best way to help build that community and feel truly at home here!
Contact the Heads of House
Adam Berinsky: berinsky@mit.edu
Deirdre Logan: delogan@mit.edu
Dr. Katie Román & Prof. Yuriy Román, Associate Heads of House
Katie, an MD who teaches at Bentley University, and Yuriy, Assistant Professor in Chemical Engineering.
Contact the Associate Heads of House
Katie Román: kroman@mit.edu
Yuriy Román: yroman@mit.edu
For information on past Heads of House please visit here.