In the area of graduate education, Bok said his main concern--beyond that of teaching scholars to teach--was to reduce the drop-out rate among grad students. Excess attrition, he said, "wastes fellowship money that we can no longer afford and, much more important, it squanders years of people's lives."

Cherished Prerogatives

Bok was careful in his speech not to trample on any cherished Faculty prerogatives. Before discussing his educational ideas, he assured his audience that he didn't "mean to slight the value of research or underestimate its importance." He assured them that "Harvard students overwhelmingly refer to books as their primary source of education."

In discussing his enlarged staff, his reform ideas, and his educational philosophy, the President reminded the Faculty, as if reminder was necessary, that the ultimate power lay with them.

Though the Faculty reception to his presence and his speech was warm, Bok was clearly nervous in presiding over his first meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Presenting plaques for the Harvard University Press Faculty Prizes to Simon Kuznets, Baker Professor of Economics, and Wilbur K. Jordan, Williams Professor of History and Political Science, Bok got the two gentlemen confused. The Professors each exchanged handshakes with the President, then sat down and exchanged plaques with each other