Harvard turned down in 1953 a Ford Foundation grant to establish an African studies program here, high sources in the History Department have revealed.

After Harvard's refusal, the foundation offered the grant to Boston University, which used it to create its African Studies Center, the sources said.

William O. Brown--whom the Ford Foundation had proposed as head of a Harvard program on Africa--instead became director of the B.U. center in 1954, remaining there until 1965.

It is also understood that the History Department held a meeting two weeks ago to consider the future of African studies here. The Department decided then to take no steps in the immediate future to create courses on Africa or to recruit professors in the field.

Cross-Registration

The Department is, however, considering the possibilities of expanding undergraduate cross-registration with B.U. and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, enabling Harvard students to take their courses on Africa.

Next year, Robert I. Rotberg, assistant professor of History, will be teaching African history at M.I.T. The Harvard History Department denied Rotberg tenure this year, forcing him to move elsewhere after this term.

No details of cross-registration with the two other schools have been worked out, nor has it been decided whether cross-registration possibilities will be listed in next year's Harvard course catalogue.

Financial Reasons

Harvard reportedly refused the Ford Foundation offer to help begin an African program here for financial reasons. At that time Harvard was establishing its Russian Research Center and East Asian Studies program. The University decided it was unable to begin a third area studies project concurrently.

Once B.U. began its African Studies Center, Harvard reportedly made an informal decision to let B.U. carry the weight of African studies in the local area.

One B.U. library source claimed that there is a loose agreement that keeps Widener Library from buying more than a minimal number of books on Africa.

However, Douglas W. Bryant, University librarian, said last night that he knew nothing of a "loose agreement" between the two schools' libraries on Africa books. Bryant pointed out that for the past four years, the Harvard library has employed an African bibliographer