Corporations Giving More To Harvard

Reflecting a national trend of record business support for educational institutions, donations to the College from large corporations have more than doubled in the last five years, officials in the Harvard Development Office said yesterday.

Of the $105 million the University received from private sources during the past fiscal year, $21.5 million came from corporations. This figure has been "increasing dramatically," said William Boardman, director of major gifts for the Development Office. "The big jump has come in the last two to three years," he added.

This substantial yield can be attributed in large part to the stepped up efforts of the Harvard Campaign to drum up support specifically for undergraduate study, said Thomas W. Stephenson, director of Corporation and Foundation giving for the Development Office. While the University is "not attempting to drain support for the professional schools, the College needs [the support of corporations] very badly to continue its tradition of excellence."

Corporation funding for the College has exceeded that of the professional schools, said Charles E. Reed, director of development and external relations for the Business School.

Stephenson said that "Dean Rosovsky is making a special effort when he talks to alumnae and corporations to get money for the College and liberal arts."

The jump in business support for Harvard reflects a nationwide trend. According to a report recently issued by the Council for Financial Aid to Education (CFAE)--a private organization comprised of various corporate leaders--the country's corporations increased their contributions to education nearly 11 percent in 1981 despite a four-percent drop in profits. The total reached a record $1.14 billion, an increase of $110 million from the prior year.

Joan Lundberg, a spokesman for the CFAE, said that "for colleges and universities reporting, Harvard was number one in voluntary support." The report also establishes that this is the second year in a row in which education support grew while corporate income declined.