CHUL Asks Study Of Sex Imbalance In Prize System

The Committee on Houses and Undergraduate Life today will draw up a proposal to the Strauch Committee, which is investigating the relationship between Harvard and Radcliffe, requesting that it consider the apparent sex discrepancy in the awarding of prizes to undergraduates.

CHUL's interest stems from a study released last month, which revealed that women students at Harvard have received less than 1/17 of the prize funds that 1971 legal action opened to them.

The study was conducted jointly by Katherine A. Hutchins, director of fellowships for the Office of Career Services and Off-Campus Learning, and by Connie J. G. Gersick for the Office of Women's Education.

The reasons for the inequities are not known, but the authors of the study suggested that women may not have been notified of their eligibility for the prizes, or that fewer women may concentrate in the fields in which the prizes are available.

The report of the findings of the recent study also is being submitted to the Strauch Committee.

Also on the agenda for the last CHUL meeting this year is further discussion of the University's affirmative action plan. Phyllis Keller, Equal Employment Officer for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, will speak to CHUL members on the plan. Although it is not formally listed on the agenda, members of the committee said yesterday they anticipate a report from Richard G. Leahy, associate dean for resources and planning, on the facilities available to students living off campus and the legitimacy of the fees imposed on those students.

Other subjects scheduled to be discussed at the meeting include the creation of a "Redbook Committee" to study the undergraduate curriculum and the structure of CHUL meetings with respect to its policy on the release of information reports to the public and to the press