Nathan Fry has been on staff at Harvard since 2003, when he joined the department as Director of Compliance. Fry has steadily risen through the department during his tenure, culminating with his most recent promotion to Deputy Director of Athletics for Internal Operations in the summer of 2021.
Fry provides strategic leadership and broad supervision of the department’s internal units including compliance, recreation/club/intramurals, varsity schedules/travel, recruiting, game operations, diversity and inclusion, student development, varsity sport supervisors and student-athlete health and performance. In addition to his oversight of internal operations, he serves as the sport supervisor for men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, and men’s and women’s tennis.
During his tenure, Fry developed and launched the department’s first captain’s leadership training program in 2007, created the Faculty Fellows Program in partnership with the Dean of the Faculty in 2008, and established the Assistant Coach Development Fund in 2011. In 2017, Fry was selected to the NCAA Division I Pathways Program, a highly selective program designed to prepare senior-level Division I administrators to become Division I athletic directors. In 2021, he was recognized by Silver Waves Media as one of the top Assistant Athletic Directors in the country.
In addition to his responsibilities with athletics, Fry remains strongly engaged with residential life at Harvard. He is a Resident Fellow for Pforzheimer House – one of 12 upperclass houses at Harvard – where he provides academic, pre-professional, and social guidance to Harvard upperlevel students. As a first-generation college student himself, Fry is deeply committed to an inclusive and transformative experience at Harvard for First-Gen students. He sits on several committees for the institution, including the Board of Freshman Advisers and the Sophomore Advising Council – both with a focus on FGLI students – and works with several student life committees, including the Administrative Board, the Student Advisory Board, the Campus Community Collaborative with the Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Services, and the Class Scheduling Committee. He is a member of several prestigious post-graduate fellowship selection committees with the Office of Career Services. Fry also serves as a core member of the Local Emergency Management Team at Harvard College.
Fry earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Southern Indiana in 1999 and completed a Master's degree in sports administration at the University of Southern Mississippi in 2001. He’s been selected as a featured speaker for the Distinguished Alumni Speaker Series at the University of Southern Indiana, and was the featured alumnus for the Alumni Spotlight Series at Southern Miss. He previously served as an Assistant Director with the Council of Ivy Group Presidents, from 2001 until his appointment at Harvard in 2003.
Fry and his wife, Michele, who is a gymnastics coach, reside on Faculty Row on Harvard’s campus with their four children.
