Evelynn M. Hammonds will step down as the College dean on July 1 . She was the first African - American dean and first female dean there . Hammonds was criticized after she conducted a secret search of faculty e - mail . `` Being dean of Harvard College has been an immensely rewarding experience for me , '' said Hammons in the statement , ` She was trying to find out who had information in a student cheating scandal .
Evelynn M. Hammonds will step down as the College dean on July 1 . She was the first African - American dean and first female dean there . Hammonds was criticized after she conducted a secret search of faculty e - mail . She was trying to find out who had information in a student cheating scandal .