Incorrect implementation of the membership rotation schedule could have a bearing on the Committee's deliberations. For example, consider the fact that one-third to one-half of the Law School faculty actively oppose the University's current South Africa investment policy, while similar sentiment is less widespread at the Business School.

When taken in a historical perspective, irregular appointments such as these lead to distortions in the Committee's membership and perhaps even misrepresentations of the Harvard community's will.

For instance, the ACSR guidelines state that the Law School and the Business School are supposed to have an equal say on the ACSR. Yet in the past seven years including this year. Business School students have been represented on the Committee for only one year, while Law School students have served for five of these seven years. The Business School has had a faculty member on the ACSR for three out of the past four years, while Law faculty have served only one year during this period.

In one other instance that I am aware of, President Bok did not follow the letter or the spirit of the guidelines he promulgated in establishing the ACSR. The guidelines state that four faculty members are to serve annually on the Committee. Yet last year, only three faculty members served. The fourth faculty slot was held not by a professor, but by an Associate Dean.

I presume that the ACSR charter specified "faculty members," rather than "faculty and administrators," because only tenured professors have the job security and independence necessary to render objective judgement on delicate matters facing the University. It is possible that nontenured faculty members and administrators could find themselves in a situation in which their sometimes tenuous career status could influence their position on an issue before the Committee.

MINORITIES

Another area in which the Advisory Committee on Shareholder Responsibility has come under persistent criticism has been the lack of minority and female representation at its table.

At the Committee's open hearing two years ago, speaker after speaker attacked the University Administration for allowing 12 white men in consider the ethical issues which were of concern to the who: University community Last year, President Bok made a step in the right direction by appointing for the first time two white women only one of whom still serves on the ACSR.

The President is record on minority appointments of the ACSR, however, is lamentable. Several Black students have been elected to position on the Committee, but to the best of my knowledge, only one Black faculty or alumni appointment has been made in the 13-year history of the ACSR. This person was a professor at the School of Dentistry who served in 1979 and 1980.

The absence of minority appointee, is particularly distressing when one considers the fact that the major task of the ACSR has been to make recommendations of South Africa investment policy and that racial and ethnic minority groups, and Blacks in particular, feel that they have a greater interest and stake in the South Africa issue than do most whites.

Though Bok may have trouble finding a representative from the small minority, and declining Black, Faculty pool, he should have no trouble finding minority alumni ae in the Boston area who would be willing to serve for a year or two on the Advisory Committee. Perhaps now is the time to make a move and, in fact, the President is presented this weekend with the ideal opportunity to recruit Black alumni ae to serve on next year's panel. Of the college's 1600 Black living alumni ae at least 100 will be visiting Harvard for the first-ever Black Alumni Weekend.

WEIGHTING THE COMMITTEE

In contrast to the lack of minorities on the ACSR, President Bok has appointed an unusual number of people with financial backgrounds to this year's ACSR. Combined with a carryover appointment from last year, these selections give this year's Committee a distinctly financial character.

Last year, the manager of Northeast Investors Trust, who continues to serve as an alumni on this year's Committee, was one of the ACSR's most conservative members. This year, President Bok had four appointments to make, not counting the students representatives. Of the four, President Bok appointed three men with financial backgrounds. His sole alumni selection is another financial manager, the vice-president for investments of the Boston-based investment counseling firm, Scudder, Stevens & Clark. Two of the three faculty appointees are financial specialists.

If President Bok intends to ask this year's Committee for a financial analyses of the various options on divestiture, one wonders if he will receive a comprehensive report on the financial aspect of divestiture that incorporates all schools of though concerning ethically sensitive investing.