"Watching the debates and listening to both sides, it's clear that we need the Democrats back in power," he says. "This is my first voting opportunity."

Other Harvard officials were not as willing to speak about their political activities.

Mittelman, a bond manager for Harvard Management Company who earned $3.7 million last year according to The Boston Globe, refused to speak to The Crimson about his $1,000 gift to the Weld campaign.

And Sandra S. Coleman, administrative dean at the Law School, expressed concern that her personal political belief, evidenced by a $500 contribution to the Kerry campaign, would be confused with her professional responsibilities.

Coleman says she and other law school administrators are very careful to keep the two issues separate.

"Our political support and our beliefs don't have anything to do with the way we do our jobs," Coleman says.

An ardent Kerry supporter and lifelong Democrat, Coleman says this policy does not damper the political activity of administrators.

"I feel perfectly free to support whoever I wish," she says.

Fewer Donations

Despite this year's tight race between two well-known Bay State politicians, the list of Harvard benefactors is notably smaller than a similar list compiled in 1994 for the Senate race between Republican venture capitalist W. Mitt Romney, a Business School graduate, and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy '54-'54 (D-Mass).

Of the 12 business school professors who made contributions to Romney's campaign, only one--Sarofim-Rock Professor of Business Administration Howard H. Stevenson--also gave to Weld's campaign.

Of the 11 University faculty members who contributed to Kennedy's campaign, only Class of 1960 Professor of Business Administration Rosabeth Moss Kanter gave money to Kerry.

Hunt supported Kennedy financially in 1994 but donated $1,500 to Weld this year.

Donations by individuals are tightly regulated by the Federal Election Campaign Act.

Individuals may give $1,000 per election (with primary elections and general elections in the same year counting as two elections) to a candidate or a candidate committee, $20,000 to a party committee per calendar year and $5,000 to any other political committees per calendar years.