The University submitted its initial affirmative action plan to the government in 1973, stating its goals and timetable through 1976.

Several University officials and faculty members last night declined to comment on the report until it had been released officially.

A table of women and minority representation among students in the period from 1971 to 1976 also indicates a decline in the percentage of black students at many of the University's graduate schools. This comes at a time when many universities are also aware of the need to increase these figures in order to raise the number of women and minorities in job applicant pools.

At the Business School, black representation dropped from 3.8 per cent in 1971 to 3.6 per cent in 1976.

At the Kennedy School, the total fell from 5.6 to 4.4 per cent of the student body, while in the Juris Doctorate program at the Law School the percentage of black students dropped from 8.2 to 7.5 per cent since 1971.

A decline in black representation is also indicated at the School of Dental Medicine. The high point in black representation at the Kennedy, Law and Dental Schools came in 1973, rising from 1971 and then dropping to a lower percentage.

In the period since 1971, the percentage of women at the graduate schools has increased, rising three- and four-fold in several instances.

In discussing existing problem areas, the report states that "Harvard is not underutilizing minorities or women in any of the major staff job categories (University-wide) except women service and craft personnel." The study uses Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) figures.

But the report continues that these categories--service and craft personnel--"seem inappropriate for Harvard since they include many types of jobs, heavily populated by women, which do not exist at the University."

Noting the underutilization of women tenure faculty members, the report states that since so few tenure positions become available each year, underutilization is expected to continue through the period covered by this report.

Currently, 26 of the University's 840 tenured professors are women.

"But the University has made steady progress in the past few years in increasing the number of tenured women faculty and will continue to exert its best efforts to comply with affirmative action procedures in making future tenure decisions," the report said