Education Officials, Politicians Know Rudenstine As Diversity Advocate

Higher education will lose a strong advocate for diversity and a capable administrator when Harvard President Neil L. Rudenstine steps down from his post next spring, said politicians and educators reacting to Monday's announcement.

"[President Clinton] appreciates Neil Rudenstine's leadership at Harvard, particularly his commitment to federal research and science and technology and also his efforts to expand the African-American Studies department there," said a White House spokesperson yesterday.

Rudenstine's colleagues praised him for accomplishments ranging from a revitalized Afro-American studies department to increased funding for student aid.

"I'm a great admirer of President Rudenstine's work on the subject of diversity. He's a national leader with his writings on the subject," said Yale President Richard C. Levin, who paused in Commencement duties Monday to speak about his counterpart.

Rudenstine is credited with recruiting a "dream team" of famous Afro-American scholars to Cambridge, including DuBois Professor of the Humanities Henry Louis "Skip" Gates Jr. and Fletcher University Professor Cornel R. West '74.

In 1997, he helped draft a pro-affirmative action statement for the Association of American Universities that ran as a full-page advertisement in The New York Times.

According to Stan Ikenberry, the president of the American Council on Education, Rudenstine's recent commitment to adopt the recommendations of a faculty committee on labor issues has also shown national leadership.

"The fact that it did happen at Harvard [shows that he] exercises thoughtful, moral-based leadership," Ikenberry said Monday.

Rudenstine has taken a national role in shaping research partnerships between universities and government, said Sen. Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy '54-'56 in a statement.

Yesterday, national educators also praised Rudenstine for his handling of Harvard's complex bureaucracy.

"Being the president of Harvard is a bit like dancing with an octopus," said Laura Freid, a former publisher of Harvard Magazine and an executive vice president at Brown. "There are so many arms of the University...Neil Rudenstine played an instrumental role in determining a strategic path."

During his tenure, Rudenstine has attempted to bring Harvard's schools closer together, organizing meetings between Harvard deans and leading the first ever University-wide Capital Campaign. In 1991, Rudenstine created the office of the provost to coordinate the work of the faculties.

MIT President Charles M. Vest, a friend of Rudenstine's who lunches with the departing president three times a term, called the decision to create the provost's position "radical."

"It made people sit up and take notice," Vest said.

Another Rudenstine milestone was the merger of Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges, said Margaret H. Marshall, formerly the University's general counsel and now the chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

In a statement, she called it "an ingenious solution that gives Radcliffe's name to an Institute of Advanced Studies that will continue the commitment to women in society."

Virtually unanimous opinion seems to be that Rudenstine will leave the University stronger than he found it.

"The big thing one should be thinking is: is this a better institution than 10 years ago? And I think the answer is unequivocally yes," Ikenberry said.

Many of Rudenstine's colleagues also praised his personal touch as an administrator and his self-effacing demeanor--long admired by administrators and alumni alike.

"You can't write that into a job description," Ikenberry said of Rudenstine's humility.

Vartan Gregorian, the president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and a former president of Brown University, described Rudenstine as "a reflective person, a private person, with public passions."

"Those of him who consider him a friend have enjoyed his honesty, integrity, compassion and hard work, not on behalf of Harvard alone but on behalf of the academic profession," he said.

Rudenstine's personality has helped him achieve his goals at the University, said Jeremiah P. Ostriker '59, the provost of Princeton.

Ostriker, who was a professor at Princeton when Rudenstine was provost there, described him as "gently forceful."

"He has a focus and he picks the issues which are important and he works toward goals. But most significant is the breadth of his vision," he said.

While virtually everyone reached was eager to speak about Rudenstine's accomplishments, most were hesitant to suggest in what direction his successor might take the University.

"Harvard is a formidable institution and I think President Rudenstine has taken good care of it," Levin said.