Corvey Assumes ACSR Liaison Post

The Advisory Committee on Shareholder Responsibility (ACSR) will gain nine new members and a new liaison to the Corporation this year, in what members of the 12-person committee call one of the largest turnovers in recent history.

Candace Corvey, until recently the assistant to the director of financial services, will coordinate the activities of the ACSR and act as liaison between the committee and the Corporation, replacing Lawrence F. Stevens '65, who resigned last May after seven years as ACSR secretary.

The ACSR was created in 1972 by President Bok to advise the Corporation on investment issues--such as divestiture of stock in companies doing business in South Africa or the continued marketing of baby formulas in underdeveloped countries--and is composed of four alumni, four faculty and four student.

Four students, three faculty members and two alumni will join the ACSR this year. In addition, President Bok will have to select a new chairman to replace Milton Katz, Stimson Professor of Law Emeritus, acting chairman last year.

Bok said yesterday that he has "put the machinery in motion" to find new faculty representatives by asking the deans of the Business School, the Medical Area schools and "one of the smaller graduate faculties" to submit nominations in the coming weeks.

Although last year ACSR members had already received their committee assignments by September, Bok said he thought the progress of this year's committee would be "pretty normal," adding, "I certainly want to get the committee formed."

Alan E. Heimert, Cabot Professor of American Literature and the one returning faculty representative, said yesterday he has had "absolutely no indication" of when the ACSR will begin meeting again. He added that he was unaware that Katz would not be returning as chairman and had "no idea" whether he might be selected to assume the position.

Bok said he plans to meet with Corvey in the next two weeks and believes that very soon afterwards the ACSR "will be up to speed." Corvey was unavailable for comment yesterday.

Kenneth Propp, a third year Law School student and last year's Law School representative to the committee, said yesterday, "I'm not suprised that nothing's happened until now, but it's still not a good thing." He added that ACSR proceedings this year would not be easy now that Stevens--"the institutional memory [of the committee]--has gone."

Stevens, who left Harvard and has started his own company, said yesterday he and Corvey "had a chance to work a little bit together," and that he has agreed to cooperate with Corvey whenever he can this year.

"It may take a little longer to get things done, but as long as MaBell keeps the phones in order, everything will be just fine." Stevens said, adding that he would probably be able to help most over "procedural matters."

Of the 11 new appointments to be made to the ACSR, only that of the new un- dergraduate member--Sanjeev Mehra '82--has been announced. Chosen last year by the Committee, on Houses and Undergraduate Life, Mehra attended two meetings last spring.

Aside from the practical problems of breaking in Corvey and most members, the ACSR will be facing a full roster of investment issues in the spring.

Michael L. Waldman '82, last year's undergraduate ACSR representative, yesterday cited two areas of conflict between the ACSR and Corporation members that may "hold over" from last year.

The issue of Harvard's sale of $50 million worth of Citibank notes and securities approximately one year ago--in compliance with the Corporation's policy pledging divestiture of holdings in any banks extending loans to the South African government--"has not died down yet," Waldman said.

"I don't think the repercussions [of the sale] have all been felt yet," he added. Corporation members were quoted last spring as considering possible revisions in their policy.

The Corporation's abstention on a measure at Dow Chemical Company that would have ended the firm's continued production of ingredients of the disputed "agent orange" also "caused strain" between ACSR and Corporation members because the ACSR approved the measure unanimously, Waldman said. However, he added that the issue might not come up again with the almost entirelty new cast of characters on the committee