Houghton To Remain Senior Fellow

James R. Houghton ’58 has said he will stay on as the senior fellow of the Harvard Corporation, the University’s most powerful governing body, for at least the next academic year.

Last year, however, Houghton said privately that he intended to step down after the University had concluded its presidential search, which ended in February, two individuals close to the Corporation said.

Houghton, 71, said in a statement that he “look[ed] forward to further service” on the governing board.

“I believe I can be a help to our new President, Drew Faust, and therefore plan to take an active role in the Corporation as I have done in the past,” Houghton wrote in an e-mail last week to The Crimson.

Houghton declined to provide a timetable for his eventual retirement, but in recent years, most Corporation members have retired not long after their 70th birthday. Former Corporation member Hanna H. Gray, who served alongside Houghton for eight years before retiring in 2005 at age 74, said yesterday that the retirement rule “has not been rigid at all.”

Gray said that Houghton’s decision may have been motivated by a desire for continuity during a major administrative transition. She also pointed to Houghton’s “good relationship” with University President-elect Drew G. Faust as a possible reason for staying on.

“It means that there will be good leadership and good continuity,” Gray said.

Interim President Derek C. Bok said last night that he was “delighted” with Houghton’s continued service.

“He worked extremely hard to conduct a fair and thorough search for the next President and has been exemplary in working with me on issues coming before the Corporation,” Bok wrote in an e-mailed statement.

With the absence of former University President Lawrence H. Summers at Harvard’s helm this year, some top administrators have also speculated that Robert E. Rubin ’60, a close friend of Summers and the longest-serving member of the Corporation after Houghton, will step down from the Corporation. He declined to comment for this article, but last August, he called suggestions of his impending resignation “unequivocally not true.”

Rubin, director and chairman of Citigroup’s executive committee, has maintained a quiet presence on campus, often zipping in and out of meetings in Loeb House and rarely staying in Cambridge as long as his fellow Corporation members. He was absent when the University announced Faust’s appointment as president in early February, and he has also missed a number of Commencement ceremonies since he joined the Corporation.

Rubin maintains a busy schedule, which includes fulfilling his duties at Citigroup as well as serving as vice chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations and a founding member of the Brookings Institute’s Hamilton Project.

Rubin, a former Treasury secretary, was a key supporter of Summers when his presidency was on thin ice last spring, putting him at odds with other members of the Corporation who advocated for Summers’ dismissal.

As the University considers possible appointments for the future, Corporation fellows are seriously considering people with ties to Boston, three individuals close to the Corporation said, a possible boon to the University as it continues its expansion across the Charles River into Allston.

The Crimson granted anonymity to the sources because the individuals’ relationship with University officials would be compromised if they were named.

Houghton was traveling and could not be reached by phone for comment.

—Staff writer Laurence H. M. Holland can be reached at lholland@fas.harvard.edu.