It is now almost 350 years since Harvard was, absolutely and indisputably, the best institution of higher education in America.

It was the only one.

For many years Americans treated the College with the reverence only bestowed upon such venerable institutions as the British Monarchy and the Liberty Bell. Until the late 16th century, Harvard was a state institution, given special status in the charter of Massachusetts. Until 1870, the governor ordered the closure of business on the day of Harvard's Commencement ceremonies. By 1960, America had placed six Harvard graduates in the White House.

In 1986, the British Monarchy serves more as fodder for gossip columnists than anything else. Colleges and universities across this country attract students and professors who Harvard might otherwise retaining, and any reverence remaining for Harvard is counterbalanced by an equal dose of disdain.

But if Harvard's good old days are found only in the writings of Samuel Eliot Morrison, the concept behind the University's 350th celebration might make you think that Harvard believes otherwise.

Organizers have dubbed the four-day 350th birthday party a "family affair," but don't let their anti-climactic, homespun rhetoric fool you. This shindig has been in the works for over six years and will cost the University well over $1 million. The Prince of Wales and the Boston Pops will be there, even if President Ronald Reagan will not. And up to 40,000 or so undergraduates, alumni and friends of the College will be wined, dined, enlightened and entertained when they descend upon the Yard during the first week of September to take part in the fun.

From the moment the festivities get underway on Wednesday evening, September 3, with a birthday bash on the banks of the Charles, until the giant stadium jamboree Saturday night in Soldiers Field, celebrants will have fun and frolic galore at their fingertips-and all in the name of higher education.

"It's a big smorgasbord of events," says Vice President for Alumni Affairs Fred L. Glimp '50, who chairs the celebration commission's steering committee. Lining up for the smorgasbord of excitement will be 25 to 50 representatives of each College alumni class, selected by their class committees, as well as representatives from all the graduate schools and 50 members of each current undergraduate class, who were chosen at random. "If they want fun and glitz, they can get it," Glimp says.

But Harvard being Harvard, of course, due homage will be paid to scholarship and learning. What Glimp calls "the real meat of the affair" are the dozens of academic symposia to be conducted by the University's 10 faculties.

Glitzed-out revelers will be able to hear Harvard's best and brightest discourse and debate on topics ranging from "Protestantism, Puritanism and the Founding of Harvard" to "The Universe: The Beginning, Now and Henceforth" to "How Plastic Fillings Adhere to Teeth."

"I said we ought to have a good time at it, but we should do more than just get up before the world and say, `Look how wonderful we are!'" says Francis H. Burr '35, the former senior fellow of the Harvard Corporation and chairman of the 350th Anniversary Celebration Commission.

"It would be a mistake for Harvard to pat itself on the back," says Glimp. "We'll have fun and at the same time be intellectually serious." The symposia constitute the serious part of the celebration.

"A friend looked over the list of the symposia and said that if you could attend all of them, it would be the equivalent of a college education," says Thomas W. Stephenson '37. Stephenson is the general secretary of the celebration's administrative staff--the guy in charge of all the nitty-gritty details whose job it is to see that the four-day celebration runs smoothly.

Charles and Ronny

While the symposia and the parties comprise the heart of the 350th ceremony, the convocations are the soul. Continuing throughout the ceremony, the three separate events will feature Prince Charles and other dignitaries, bringing large crowds and the press corp to Cambridge from all over the world and requiring elaborate security arrangements. Conspicuously absent, however, will be President Reagan, who declined an invitation to attend earlier this spring citing his "very busy" schedule.