Alums Elect Five New Overseers

Amidst charges that the election was unfair, the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) announced on Commencement Day the names of five alums recently elected to the Board of Overseers.

The new overseers were chosen in an election by graduates of Harvard's nine faculties. Each will serve a six-year term on the 30 member board, which advises President Neil L. Rudenstine and forms committees to watch over the workings of the University.

Among them is Jamie S. Gorelick '72, a former deputy attorney general; Deval L. Patrick '78, a prominent civil rights lawyer; John Rockwell '62, the editor of The New York Times' arts and leisure section; C. Dixon Spangler, the former president of the University of North Carolina and Dr. David D. Ho, an AIDS researcher and 1996 Time Magazine Man of the Year.

Allegations of wrongdoing came from Stephen B. Hrones '64, who is considering legal action to contest the election.

Hrones complained that a letter by the Harvard Business School Alumni Association urging Business School alums to support C. Dixon Spangler--a Business School graduate--unfairly used Harvard money to support one candidate.

The fact that Spangler came in fifth place in the voting shows this letter may have been essential to his candidacy, Hrones said.

Hrones also objected to the wording of the ballot, which placed the petition candidates separately at the bottom of the ballot--making alums less likely to vote for him, he said. A petition candidate is one who gets on the ballot by collecting signatures from one percent of voting alums--about 300 signatures.

Most candidates get on the ballot when they are selected in an extensive review process by the Nominating Committee of the Alumni Association.

This year eight ballot candidates were selected by the Alumni Association. Two, including Hrones, ran by petition.

Executive Director of the Alumni Association John P. Reardon '60 said he thought each of the new overseers could make a significant contribution in their area of expertise.

For example, Ho could examine scientific issues at Harvard, he said. Rockwell, who organized the Lincoln Center Festival, the largest multi-arts festival in the country, might focus on improving the arts at Harvard, Reardon said.

Reardon said the committee tries to select a group of candidates with diverse talents, but he was hesitant to use the word "quota."

"If you're recruiting a baseball [team] and you need a shortstop, is that a quota system? Quality is the number one thing that is important."

Hrones said he ran for overseer because theOverseers are currently not actively trying tomake changes in the University.

"They've abdicated their responsibilities tothe [Harvard] Corporation, a group of six or sevenelderly people, mostly millionaires," he said.

Rockwell said that while he would try toimprove the University. he would not take anadversarial stance.

"The Board of Overseers can't go charging inand announce grandiose initiatives that willtotally change the campus," Rockwell said.

One of the points in Hrones' platform was tobring more minorities and women onto the faculty.

"While they've diversified the student body,they've been behind on the faculty," Hrones said."I said I would press to bring in moreminorities."

A lawyer, Hrones said the charter thatMassachusetts granted Harvard in the 1600s maymean that the University can be held legallyresponsible for a fair election.

If the elements of the election were trulyillegal, Hrones should have issued an injunctionbefore the voting, Rockwell said.

"His stand on principle is kind of undercut inthat way," Rockwell said.

Hrones said he realizes some people think he isa sore loser.

"It looks like sour grapes," he said. "Peoplesay, 'Hey look, Hrones, you lost," he said

Hrones said he ran for overseer because theOverseers are currently not actively trying tomake changes in the University.

"They've abdicated their responsibilities tothe [Harvard] Corporation, a group of six or sevenelderly people, mostly millionaires," he said.

Rockwell said that while he would try toimprove the University. he would not take anadversarial stance.

"The Board of Overseers can't go charging inand announce grandiose initiatives that willtotally change the campus," Rockwell said.

One of the points in Hrones' platform was tobring more minorities and women onto the faculty.

"While they've diversified the student body,they've been behind on the faculty," Hrones said."I said I would press to bring in moreminorities."

A lawyer, Hrones said the charter thatMassachusetts granted Harvard in the 1600s maymean that the University can be held legallyresponsible for a fair election.

If the elements of the election were trulyillegal, Hrones should have issued an injunctionbefore the voting, Rockwell said.

"His stand on principle is kind of undercut inthat way," Rockwell said.

Hrones said he realizes some people think he isa sore loser.

"It looks like sour grapes," he said. "Peoplesay, 'Hey look, Hrones, you lost," he said