John Kenneth Galbraith, Paul M. Warburg Professor of Economics, announced Saturday that he would back Boston Mayor John F. Collins for the U.S. Senate.

Collins will announce on Wednesday whether he chooses to run.

Galbraith declared his support at a testimonial dinner for Collins held at the Harvard Club of Boston. Professors from colleges in the Boston area attended the meeting, hosted by Galbraith and by James Q. Wilson, associate professor of Government.

"Although the 1960's are years of prosperity," Galbraith said in his endorsement, "America is faced with an urban crisis, the major national issue of the decade." Growing populations and scarce funds for development have multiplied problems in the management of every American city.

Imaginative Reform

Under Collins, he said, Boston has erased its reputation for inefficient government and has led in imaginative programs of reform.

Cities need representatives in Washington with imaginative solutions to problems of transportation, low-cost nousing, improved health services, fair treatment of unions, and development of industries, Galbraith said. Collins's work in Boston, he noted, has proved his dedication to these issues.

Galbraith praised Collins's independent thought in foreign policy and his forceful arguments for peace.

Faces Tests

If he decides to run for the Senate, Collins will face tests at the Democratic state convention in June and in the primary election in September.

His principle opponent will probably be Endicott Peabody '42, former governor of Massachusetts, who was given a strong endorsement at the Massachusetts Democratic Convention at Harvard last week.