Committee Taps Alums For Names In Search

The nine-member committee that will choose President Neil L. Rudenstine's successor has begun soliciting community input with a brief letter sent out to 300,000 members of the Harvard community.

Rudenstine announced last spring that he would step down from his post this June after 10 years at Harvard's helm. The search committee is not expected to make an announcement until spring.

The letter, dated August and issued by search chair and Harvard Corporation Senior Fellow Robert G. Stone Jr. '45, went to all alumni of Harvard's nine schools as well as all faculty and staff.

The letter asks for "your thoughts on the personal and professional qualities it will be most important to seek in a new president, as well as your observations on any individuals you believe are deserving of serious consideration."

"We would value your observations and ideas about the state of the university--how you perceive Harvard's strengths and weaknesses, as well as the major opportunities and challenges Harvard will face in the years ahead," Stone writes.

If the process follows established precedent, the letter is the only contact most members of the Harvard community will have with the search committee, which unlike some of its counterparts at other schools does not include students or faculty in its top-secret deliberations.

Although some Harvard affiliates are always interviewed about their opinions of the University, most will not do more than exchange missives with Stone and his colleagues.

When contacted, several alumni said they were still mulling over the letter's contents and had not yet decided what their recommendations would be.

Students in all faculties will also receive a request for input as the academic year begins.

During the last presidential search, the committee received about 2,000 responses to its requests for outside input, said University spokesperson Joe Wrinn.

The Harvard Corporation, the University's highest governing body, is charged with finding its 27th president. The group must also obtain the approval of the Board of Overseers, the second highest governing body.

The search committee consists of the Corporation--minus Rudenstine--and three Overseers.

"We will, of course, be seeking a person of high intellectual distinction, with proven qualities of leadership, devotion to excellence in education and research, a capacity to guide a complex institution through a time of significant change, and a dedication to the ideals and values vital to a community of learning," Stone writes.

"We aim to reach out broadly across the Harvard community--to faculty, students, staff, alumni, and friends--to solicit both general advice and specific nominations. Responses to this letter will be a critical element of that process," he adds.

The two names most often mentioned at this stage are prominent figures within the University--Provost Harvey V. Fineberg '67 and Dean of the Business School Kim B. Clark '74.

During the summer, popular speculation even swirled around whether either half of the first couple might trade the White House for Mass. Hall. However, both the first lady and the president are widely seen as too controversial to take the reins. University insiders instead point to what may be more realistic, less sensational choices--administrators already within Harvard's gates.