Harvard and seven other New England universities have established a new University Film Study Center to pool resources in supporting the study of films at college.

James S. Ackerman, professor of Fine Arts, has been elected president of the center, which temporarily has its headquarters in Cambridge. The major stimulus for forming the center, he said, "has been the accelerating interest of students and faculties in the film, and recognition of its role as a major art form of our time and a fit subject for the college curriculum."

The films from the individual libraries will circulate among participating universities for research and teaching only, according to a press release announcing the formation of the center. The films will not be made available for public exhibitions or any other non-academic purpose.

Seven Others

The other members of the center include Boston University, Brandeis, Brown, M.I.T., University of New Hampshire, Wesleyan, and Yale.

Ackerman said that the members hope to supplement their libraries with old films provided by the film industry. "Although Hollywood has piles of these old films stored away, they are somewhat reluctant to dig them out and use them for other than commercial purposes," he said.

Participating members will pay for the temporary operation in Cambridge. Eventually, the organizers plan to raise $4 million to pay for a staff, library, and other necessary facilities.