President Mary I. Bunting's announcement in February 1969 that Radcliffe would seek a merger agreement with Harvard prompted speculation that the school had committed institutional suicide. The Crimson extra announcing the merger plans included a picture of Bunting with the caption, "Cliffe's Last President."

But the presumed fait accompli faltered as Radcliffe alumnae came to the defense of their alma mater. And Harvard die-hards came forward to reiterate the rudiments of their long-standing skepticism regarding merger. Franklin L. Ford, then dean of the Faculty, subtly summed it all up: "The most brutal formulation of the problem of merger might mean achieving sexual diversity at the expense of other kinds of diversity."

Other Faculty members and administrators followed in stride, implying that geographic, economic, academic and racial diversity could not possibly be achieved with respect to women.

But all the rationalizations were just a coverup for the larger issue: the equal admission of men and women, the logical next step for an institution whose tradition could no longer be described as exclusively male.

So in December 1970 a committee of Harvard and Radcliffe Governing Board members turned a proposal for institutional suicide into a mere suicide gesture. The committee recommended a new plan that, while technically a "non-merger," combined the two institutions but kept "Radcliffe" as a redefined if nominal administration.

The terms of that settlement, later approved by the Harvard Board of Overseers and the Radcliffe Trustees, were:

* That Radcliffe retain ownership of its property and endowment and continue to manage its endowment in consultation with the Harvard treasurer;

* That Radcliffe pay Harvard 100 per cent of its income from endowment, tuition fees and rents, and that Harvard assume the total expense of Radcliffe's operation, including joint fund-raising;

* That Harvard assume responsibility for operating Hilles Library as well as other Radcliffe buildings and dining facilities;

* That the Radcliffe Houses become part of a unified House system under the Faculty of Arts and Sciences; and,

* That Radcliffe retain control of the Schlesinger Library, the Radcliffe Institute, the Alumnae Office, and its admissions and financial aid office.

But the non-merger merger agreement can probably be best summed up by the redefinition of the Radcliffe administration. The pact specified that a dean of Radcliffe be appointed by the governing boards of Harvard and Radcliffe, and that the dean have administrative jurisdiction over the Schlesinger Library, the Radcliffe Institute, the Alumnae Office and the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid.

The agreement stipulated, however, that the annual budget for the retained programs be subject to the review and approval of the "Joint Budget Committee"--a group representing the governing boards of both Radcliffe and Harvard, and composed of equal numbers of members from each institution.

The contract--a revision of the April 1943 pact that instituted coeducational classes--allowed Radcliffe to designate the dean as president of Radcliffe if its trustees desired. But the responsibilities of the administrative head of what remained of "Radcliffe" had been so undercut that the retention of the title, "president of Radcliffe," represented a last meager attempt to maintain Radcliffe's identity as a women's institution distinct from the university that now controlled it.

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