Bok Tours Eastern Europe

Geyser University Professor Henry Rosovsky and former Harvard president Derek C. Bok were among a group of four U.S. academics who journeyed last month to Eastern Europe to survey the region's institutions of higher learning.

The trip was taken to study the current state of higher education in nations previously under communist rule, according to Alvin Felzenberg, who helped organize the exchange.

The trip was supported by the Citizens Democracy Corps (CDC), a clearing house for donations made by private individuals and corporations that wish to support democracy efforts in Eastern Europe.

Felzenberg, senior program officer of the Democracy Corps, also participated in the trip to Bratislava, Prague and Budapest, along with Princeton University economist Richard Quandt.

In an interview yesterday, Felzenberg said that the mission sought to identify ways to bring Eastern Europe's educational institutions closer in scope and method to those in the united States.

The participants interviewed campus leaders from several schools in each city. Bok placed great emphasis on discussions with students who had directly participated in the 1989 democratic revolt, Felzenberg said.

Felzenberg said that the United States should make efforts to include previously communist nations in the world political system.

"It is in the best interest of the United Sates that these nations join the world community," he said