Prospects For Early Election of New Harvard President Lessen

Prospects for the election of Harvard's next president before Commencement received a serious setback yesterday with the announcement that no name was submitted to the Board of Overseers at its meeting yesterday afternoon. It is now considered more than likely that final action on President Lowell's successor will be put off until autumn.

Due to the complicated election procedure, two meetings of the Overseers are required, one to receive the name of the Corporation's choice and a second to approve the election. Two stated meetings of the Board remain on the calendar this year, on Monday, May 8, and on Commencement Day, Thursday, June 22. The fact that the Commencement Day meeting is ordinarily a short and perfunctory one makes it somewhat doubtful if the Overseers would transact any important business on that day.

Early Announcement Unlikely

In the case of President Lowell's election, the name of the Corporation's choice was announced before the formal approval by the Overseers but on this occasion it is believed that appearances will be preserved by awaiting the approval. Another possibility is that a special meeting of the Overseers might be called, as was done a few years ago to fill vacancies in its membership. The present temper of the Board is believed to be opposed to a special meeting on the grounds that there is no need for haste and that such a meeting would not be consistent with the dignity of the body.

Suggestions that Harvard might follow Princeton's example in the appointment of an acting president, heard recently because of the Corporation's seeming inability to fix upon a new head, received short shrift in semi-official quarters yesterday. President Lowell, it is believed, will continue in office until his successor is appointed, even if that should prolong his term far into next year. His resignation, tendered last November, takes effect when his successor is appointed and ready to assume his duties, preferably at the end of this year.

Cases of Lowell and Ellot

The Corporation's delay in choosing President Lowell's successor is in contrast to the alacrity with which President Lowell's own election passed through the Corporation and Overseers. President Eliot resigned on October 26, 1908 and by early February of the following year his successor had been named. A situation similar in this respect to the present one arose, however, in 1868, the year of Eliot's election. Disturbed by a sense of impending change and a feeling of uncertainty, the Overseers delayed for five months before allowing the Corporation to proceed to the election of a president. Even after the Corporation had named Eliot, the Overseers, uneasy at the prospect of a scientific man in the president's chair, held up confirmation for more than a month.