Profs. to Examine Benefits Review

In an unusual move, Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles has appointed two professors to investigate whether Harvard's benefits review task force and its faculty advisory committee adequately considered faculty concerns during their work last year.

Over the next few weeks, McKay Professor of Mechanical Engineering Frederick H. Abernathy and Gund Professor of Economics and of Business Administration Richard E. Caves will interview 20 to 30 faculty members and administrators involved in the review, Abernathy said last night.

"It is a very wise move," said Henderson Professor of the Psychology of Personality Brendan A. Maher. "They will be factual. I know both of [them] very well."

Knowles told the Faculty Council about the appointments yesterday.

Professors called for an investigation at last week's meeting of the full Faculty. Four professors, including Abernathy and Maher, spoke in response to President Neil L. Rudenstine's 40-minute explanation of the University's benefits changes, which reflected the task force's conclusions.

Three of the professors said they thought the faculty advisory committee to the University-wide task force did not adequately solicit faculty opinion.

"It seemed as though we were being treated more as employees of a business than members of a community," McKay Professor of Computer Science Barbara J. Grosz said at the meeting.

Abernathy said Knowles asked him and Caves last weekend to examine the benefits review process.

Abernathy also said he and Caves will put their findings and recommendations in writing before the next Faculty meeting November 15--no easy task, he said.

"I think the total amount of material we've been presented with is over six or seven inches high," Abernathy said.

The duo has already interviewed seven people involved in the process, Abernathy said last night. Yesterday alone, they spent five or six hours doing research for the report.

"We are interviewing some of the participants of the task force so that we can find out the chronology of who knew what was happening, what the procedure was and how people were kept informed," Abernathy said.

Caves said yesterday it is too early to comment on the investigation.

Mallinckrodt Professor of Applied Physics William Paul, who called for an investigation at last week's meeting, said he had a "very pleasant" 90-minute conversation yesterday with Abernathy and Caves.

"I would expect that they will try to find out if the recommendations that the task force made were exposed to the faculty members before they were inscribed in stone," Paul said. "My contention is that there is no evidence that that was done."

At yesterday's meeting, Knowles said he wanted to respond to the faculty's concerns, according to Professor of History James Hankins.

"[Knowles] didn't really indicate any personal reaction he had except to say that he was very concerned and felt personally responsible for any defects in the process," Hankins said. "[He said] he was determined to do everything he could to satisfy the faculty on that point. I think most people accepted that."

Knowles has written a letter to the Faculty about the investigation which should go out today, according to an administrator

"[Knowles] didn't really indicate any personal reaction he had except to say that he was very concerned and felt personally responsible for any defects in the process," Hankins said. "[He said] he was determined to do everything he could to satisfy the faculty on that point. I think most people accepted that."

Knowles has written a letter to the Faculty about the investigation which should go out today, according to an administrator