Committee Will Redefine Functions of Presidency Before Naming Successor

Before President Pusey's successor is chosen by the Corporation, the University Committee on Governance will attempt to define just what sort of man the president of Harvard should be.

The Committee will release this Spring a paper on the role of the president and methods of his selection, and will then begin canvassing various University groups to determine both the abilities valued in and possible names of the next president.

"The extent of the exploration, involving all groups in the community, is undoubtedly different from any process used to select any president in recent years," John T. Dunlop, acting dean of the Faculty and chairman of the Committee, said yesterday.

The investigation will be conducted by one of the Committee's three subgroups, headed by Kenneth R. Andrews, Donald K. David Professor of Business Administration.

The Committee-appointed in September on the recommendation of the Friendly Committee, a special Overseers' committee formed after last April's strike and chaired by Judge Henry J. Friendly-includes Faculty and student representatives from the College and eight graduate schools, one Corporation member, two members of the Board of Overseers, one member of the Radcliffe Boards of Trustees, and a representative of the Associated Harvard Alumni.

"We're groping toward a procedure by which groups will be asked what the need of the University is-the question is not so much getting names as getting an idea of what the presidency should mean," Andrews said yesterday.

"This is an educational process, not a sweepstakes," he added. "I hope we will be discussing the changing roles of the University, not just reacting to crises."

Andrews said that work on his sub-group's paper on the presidency, scheduled for release in late March or early April, was begun before Pusey announced his intention to resign.

When Pusey announced his decision. Dunlop said. Committee work on the presidency "obviously assumed a great urgency. We will try to produce as soon as possible a sensible discussion of the qualities called for in a Harvard president at this particular point in Harvard's history, as well as procedures for involving all elements of the Harvard community in the process of selecting a new president."

After the Committee's statement is released, the process of consultation will begin, Dunlop said. Groups whose opinions will be requested include Faculty, students, and alumni, but "there will be no formal restriction." he said.

The actual process-expected, Dunlop said, to begin this Spring with letters to a wide range of groups within the University-will be under the leadership of Francis H. Burr, about to become Senior Fellow of the Corporation.

Second and third rounds in the investigation will presumably involve consultation with the Faculty Council, with various student groups, and with House groups. "The intention is to have a rather wide net." Dunlop said.

Change From '53

According to Dunlop. such a formal attempt to involve the entire University in presidential selection has never been made before. When Pusey was selected in 1953, "the range of those consulted was quite restricted," he said. "and it was not done in any public fashion."

Other papers to be released by the Committee this Spring-intended. Dunlop said, as papers for discussion. not recommendations-deal with the relationship between the University and society. financial problems of the University, the role of the Council of Deans and the possible need for a University Senate, and the handling of the questions of rights and responsibilities throughout the University.