A Brand New Member For a Very Old Corporation

Newly appointed member of the Harvard Corporation Richard A. Smith '46 seems like he will fit right in with Harvard's top governing board.

Like most fellows of the self-selecting seven-member Corporation, Smith is shy of the press, dedicated to Harvard and used to dealing with lots and lots of money.

Former Overseer Arnold Hiatt '48, chair of the Stride-Rite Corporation, says Smith is "not a renegade, not a radical."

Indeed, Smith, who serves as chair of General Cinema Corporation, is something of an insider. A graduate of Harvard College, he has served on the Board of Overseers since 1988.

Some say Smith is similar to the person whose seat he will fill on the corporation. The late Colman M. Mockler Jr. '52, who chaired the Gillette Corporation, was also a local resident, skilled businessperson and a graduate of Harvard College. Mockler was seen by many as a mediator who tried to find compromises when members of the Corporation disagreed.

Bonnie Meltzer, a professional at a charitable foundation who works closely with Smith, calls the new corporation member "a brilliant mediator." She says, "He really uses his leadership to bring people together." And Professor of Pediatrics Emeritus William Berenberg '36 says Smith is "a statesman."

"He can see both sides of an issue," Berenberg says.

Smith, like Mockler, is a local. Corporation Member Judith R. Hope says the Corporation was looking for someone who was "if possible, from the Boston area." And University Marshal Richard Hunt says one of Smith's assets is that he is "very prominently known in the Harvard-New England area."

Still, Hope says the search committee was not looking for an exact duplicate of Mockler.

It remains to be seen what role Smith will play on the Harvard Corporation, which decides matters of institutional, fiscal and institutional policy. For that matter, it remains to be seen how long the 67-year-old Smith will even serve on the Corporation.

Members have an informal agreement to retire at age 70. If Smith follows that tradition, his will be essentially an interim appointment.

But current Corporation member Hope says Smith's term may not be so short. "I think we're hoping that he'll stay on longer than that," she says.

And Hope down-plays any concerns about Smith's age. "He is a very strong, very fit man," she says.

Hope tells of having trouble with an "extremely heavy suitcase" while in New York for a March meeting to vote on the selection of Neil L. Rudenstine as Harvard's 26th president. Hope, who lifts weights for exercise, considered taking a taxi for a trip of several blocks in cold, windy weather.

"Dick Smith said 'now don't be silly, I'll carry that'," Hope says. "And he picked it up like a piece of tissue paper."

Those who have worked with Smith describe him as a man of many strengths who quietly shapes the institutions with which he becomes involved.

Two of his strengths, associates say, are his dedication to the University and his business acumen. Hope says Smith showed "a great understanding of Harvard and a great loyalty to Harvard."

And Berenberg, who has worked with Smith on the United Cerebral Palsy Research and Education Foundation, describes Smith as "very devoted to Harvard."

Hope says Smith has "an absolutely impeccable business reputation," while Hunt cites his "excellent business judgement."

"In the world of business, he's done very well," Hiatt says, comparing Smith's expertise in that area to Mockler's, and mentioning Smith's skill in strategically diversifying General Cinema Corporation.

The result of that skill has been an American success story. Smith, a Forbes 400 millionaire with assets recently estimated at approximately $460 million, grew a family-run chain of drive-in movie theaters into a conglomerate that now includes the Harcourt Brace Jovanovich publishing house and a 60 percent interest in the Nieman Marcus Group.

But Smith is no Donald Trump. He is widely described as a generous philanthropist who shies away from public attention.

Indeed, quiet and private might be the operative words to describe Smith. A recent Forbes article described him as "a private man who has no ego need for publicity." And an assistant who answered the phone in his Chestnut Hill office says Smith does not usually accept reporters' requests for interviews.

Berenberg speaks of Smith's "quiet" nature, saying he is "not a publicity hound by any means."

And Meltzer, director of development at the Facing History and Ourselves Foundation, says Smith "really cares about the press he receives." Smith is chair of the board of the Foundation, which seeks to help schoolteachers reduce prejudice, using the Holocaust as a model.

Still, Berenberg says Smith's laconic stretches have not hindered the new corporation member's leadership or accomplishments.

"When he speaks, he says something meaningful," Berenberg says.

Dick Squires, chair of the Board of Overseers of Brandeis University's Wien International Scholarship program, shared the same sentiments about Smith in a separate interview.

Squires also remarked on Smith's quiet side. But he adds, "when he speaks, he really has something to say."

All that quiet time does not go to waste, associates say. Meltzer says Smith's leadership style involves "really paying attention and listening." And Squires says Smith "listens carefully."

After attentively observing, Smith can play a significant role in a decision-making process. University Marshal Richard M. Hunt calls Smith "consultative, but also a very strong leader."

Berenberger also emphasized that while quiet, Smith can be "aggressive." Yet Hiatt describes Smith as a "thoughtful" man, whose greatest virtue is his sensibility.

As an undergraduate at Harvard, Smith lived in Lowell House. He played squash, tennis and golf while concentrating in Engineering Sciences. His yearbook listed his intended permanent vocation as "Business."

Squires says Smith still plays tennis. And his permanent vocation is, of course, business.

Ever-courteous, Smith would not let even weightlifter Corporation member Judith Hope carry her heavy suitcase in windy weather.