Dean Ford will leave Harvard this spring on a one-semester sabbatical leave, and John T. Dunlop, David A. Welles Professor of Political Economy, will serve as acting Dean of the Faculty in his absence.

Ford-who was hospitalized with a circulatory disorder during the crisis last April-said yesterday that he plans to deliver a series of lectures at universities in Chile and Argentina in February, and then study in European libraries.

Dunlop's appointment, announced Thursday, has been cited by local papers as evidence of a conservative swing in the Administration because of his reputation as a labor mediator under Truman and Eisenhower.

Dunlop declined to comment on this yesterday. "It's hard to tell now what problems will be in January," he said. "But I am hopeful that with the variety of experiences we had last spring we can have a more constructive year."

He added that his labor relations experience should prove helpful because "in labor relations one learns to listen to people-not only to the words they say but to the meaning between the lines."

During the Truman Administration, Dunlop served on panels which investigated the 1950 coal miners' strike and mediated labor disputes for the Atomic Energy Commission. He was also chief arbitrator for the construction industry from 1948 until 1957, and President Eisenhower named him chairman of an emergency fact-finding commission during a railroad strike in 1960.

Dunlop was also a member of the Committee of 15 which recommended punishments for students participating in the seizure of University Hall last April. He joined the Faculty in 1938, and served as chairman of the Economics Department from 1961 to 1966. He is also a member of the faculty of Public Administration.

Dunlop has written extensively about labor relations. His books include Wage Determination Under Trade Unions and Industrial Relations Systems.

Dean Ford

Dean Ford, who is also McLean Professor of Ancient and Modern History, said yesterday that he plans to spend most of his leave doing research in Vienna and Munich for a book on the Thirty Years' War.

Ford became Dean of the Faculty early in the sixties, replacing McGeorge Bundy who left to become special advisor to President John F. Kennedy'40.