Radcliffe May Take Over Byerly, Agassiz Halls

A week after announcing an intention to merge with Harvard, further details about the new Radcliffe continue to emerge.

Harvard and Radcliffe have reached an agreement on building use in Radcliffe Yard, while other questions, like the future of the Radcliffe College Alumnae Association (RCAA), remain up in the air.

Under a proposed final merger agreement, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study will have the option to claim Agassiz and Byerly Halls for its own use after five and seven years respectively, according to two high-level sources.

The arrangement will accommodate the future Institute's sizeable cadre of scholars and visiting faculty, while giving Harvard sufficient time to find other space.

"Things will stay as they are for enough time for alternatives to be found," one source said.

Agassiz Hall currently houses an undergraduate performance space as well as offices for some Radcliffe staff and organizations like Education for Action. Byerly Hall is home to the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid and the offices of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Director of Admissions Marlyn McGrath Lewis '70-'73 said that the admissions office has not yet been notified of any long-term plans. However, she expressed confidence that the office would find an equally suitable home if forced to move.

"There are several possible alternatives that one could name," McGrath Lewis said.

She said that in the event of a move, one potential site could be Hemenway Gymnasium near Harvard Law School.

"Certainly from our point of view Hemenway has some attractive features," she said. "[But] it is not the only attractive option."

Any new location would have to be within comfortable walking distance of Harvard Yard because tours for prospective students begin at the admissions office, McGrath Lewis said.

The Byerly Hall site has been an uncertain one for the admission office for some time. When their lease expired last year, Radcliffe College refused to consider a long-term deal, and a dispute over rent held up even a short-term agreement for several months.

The Office of Admissions has been located in Byerly since a joint Harvard-Radcliffe admissions office was created in 1975.

Meanwhile, leaders of the RCAA met with Provost Harvey V. Fineberg '67 and interim Radcliffe head Mary Maples Dunn to discuss the organization's future membership.

In an e-mail message to members of the RCAABoard of Management and other active alumnae, RCAAExecutive Director Mary V. Carty '74 said Dunn"has expressed her full support for theassociation" but encouraged alumnae to contactRadcliffe with "concerns and questions."

"There are still many organizational questionsto be worked out," Carty wrote.

"Therefore, this is a crucial time for us tohear from as many of our members as possible."

The question of membership is crucial for theorganization's survival, said Diana E. Post '67,RCAA's second vice president.

"We either will have alums defined some otherway, or we will go out of existence," Post said.

Currently, all female undergraduates becomeautomatic RCAA members upon graduation. However,after the merger undergraduate women will attendonly Harvard College.

Post said RCAA is seeking an arrangement thatwould make future female graduates automaticmembers of RCAA despite the fact that they willnot graduate from Radcliffe College.

"We would like some version of that, I think,expanding it perhaps to all women [at theUniversity]," she said.

RCAA might approach women at Harvard's graduateschools in an effort to become a University-widewomen's alliance, Post said.

"We haven't done anything official yet, butthat certainly has been discussed," she said.

RCAA First Vice President A'Lelia P. Bundles'74 said that in principle, "it would be great ifall women could feel as if they had someconnection" to RCAA.

However, she stressed that Harvard andRadcliffe officials will make the decision, notalumnae

In an e-mail message to members of the RCAABoard of Management and other active alumnae, RCAAExecutive Director Mary V. Carty '74 said Dunn"has expressed her full support for theassociation" but encouraged alumnae to contactRadcliffe with "concerns and questions."

"There are still many organizational questionsto be worked out," Carty wrote.

"Therefore, this is a crucial time for us tohear from as many of our members as possible."

The question of membership is crucial for theorganization's survival, said Diana E. Post '67,RCAA's second vice president.

"We either will have alums defined some otherway, or we will go out of existence," Post said.

Currently, all female undergraduates becomeautomatic RCAA members upon graduation. However,after the merger undergraduate women will attendonly Harvard College.

Post said RCAA is seeking an arrangement thatwould make future female graduates automaticmembers of RCAA despite the fact that they willnot graduate from Radcliffe College.

"We would like some version of that, I think,expanding it perhaps to all women [at theUniversity]," she said.

RCAA might approach women at Harvard's graduateschools in an effort to become a University-widewomen's alliance, Post said.

"We haven't done anything official yet, butthat certainly has been discussed," she said.

RCAA First Vice President A'Lelia P. Bundles'74 said that in principle, "it would be great ifall women could feel as if they had someconnection" to RCAA.

However, she stressed that Harvard andRadcliffe officials will make the decision, notalumnae