Establishing a precedent in University development, the new Littauer School of Public Administration will open on March 1, for a three month session without students during which the faculty will hold sessions with fifty prominent officials drawn from federal, state and local government, President Conant announced last night.

Regular students will not be admitted until the fall of 1938 after two further exploratory sessions during the academic year 1937-38.

Realistic Approach

In order to keep the school on a realistic basis, the visiting officials will advise the faculty on such questions as the scope of the curriculum, the detailed courses, the most effective methods of instruction, the nature of the instructional data, and the research program, it was explained. The exploratory conferences were arranged because of the pioneering character of the school.

Munro Organizing

The work of organizing the preliminary session this spring has been undertaken at President Conant's request by William B. Munro, '01 a member of the executive council of the California Institute of Technology and formerly Professor of American History and Government here. Professor Munro was a member of the advisory commission, headed by President Harold W. Dodds of Princeton, which made plans for the new school.

Faculty Chosen

Members of the initial staff have all been chosen from the Harvard faculty. They include Howard L. Bevis, William Ziegler Professor of Government and Law; John D. Black, Henry Lee Professor of Economics; Harold H. Burbank, David A. Wells Professor of Political Economy; Carl J. Friedrich, associate professor of Government; Erwin N. Griswold, professor of Law; Arthur N. Holcombe, '06, professor of Government; Nathan Isaacs, professor of Business Law; Ward Shepard, '10, director of the Harvard Forest; Sumner H. Slichter, professor of Business Economics; John H. Williams, Nathaniel Ropes Professor of Political Economy; and Edwin B. Wilson, '99, professor of Vital Statistics. E. Pendleton Herring, instructor of Government has been named secretary for the faculty. Additional members will be added from time to time.

A building for the new school, provided for in Mr. Littauer's $2,000,000 gift, will be completed sometime in 1938. The location is not definite yet. Temporary headquarters will be in Hunt Hall.

In accordance with the report of the advisory commission, the school will emphasize professional standards and stress a realistic approach in its instruction, it was stated. The advice of experienced government officials will be continually sought.

$65,000 Grant

During the exploratory session each of the visiting officials will stay at the school for periods of from one week to a month or more. Arrangements have already been made for the attendance of a number of high public administrators from Washington, as well as from various state capitals and large cities. The Rockefeller Foundation has provided a grant of $65,000 for financing this series of conferences during the preliminary session and throughout the coming academic year.

Until October, 1938, the faculty will devote itself to laying groundwork in curriculum and methods with the assistance of the government officials, as well as with the help of promising younger men already in public service who will take leave of absence to afford assistance and at the same time broaden their own training. Young men of this type will always provide a nucleus in the student body, it is planned, and a number of "in-service" fellowships will be provided each year to enable these men to attend the school.

Advanced Students Only

At the outset at least, there is no likelihood that any considerable group of college graduates possessing only bachelor's degrees will be admitted. The school will be primarily for students of more advanced qualification. It will endeavor to provide training in public administration chiefly for graduates of law schools and technical schools and for others who have received advanced degrees or have done advanced work in some special field and who desire to acquire a broad knowledge of the practical problems of government as a means of entering the public service and advancing to positions of importance in it.