When Matina S. Horner came to Radcliffe in 1972 as the college's sixth president, scholarship by and about women was on the upswing.

The Women's Movement was at its height, women nationwide were pouring into the workforce, and colleges were beginning to institute women's studies programs.

So when Horner, whose own research on women's fear of success had gained her public acclaim, took over at Radcliffe, she began a program of developing the scholarly resources on women that many cite as one of her principal legacies as she leaves the post after 17 years.

According to the departing president, the lack of women faculty at Harvard, the unavailability of scholarship on women and the dearth of information about women's lives all presented key barriers to women's achievement in scholarship which she felt pressed to address.

"The question was, 'how do we think about the roles that women are in' and 'how do we give them the dignity and the financial remuneration and all the other things they deserve,'" Horner said last week after the announcement that Linda S. Wilson would replace her on July 1.

When she arrived at Radcliffe, Horner says she was faced with an academic situation in which "women had to prove everything that there was." She noticed, she says, "when people recommend men they talk about 'potential' and the 'rough diamond.' When they present women to get a similar position, they have to be 100 times better."

Since the early 1970s, Radcliffe--under Horner--has developed a series of academic programs designed to foster what many call "a community" of women scholars. Most prominent among these programs are the president's much-touted scholarly centers, including the Bunting Institute, the Murray Research Center and the Schlesinger Library.

The Bunting Institute provides funding and office space for younger women scholars seeking to attain recognition, the Murray Research Center acts as a clearinghouse for research on all facets of women's experience, and the Schlesinger Library for the History of Women in America holds one of the foremost women's studies research collections in the country.

Horner's "troika", as the three programs are referred to at Radcliffe, has emerged as the most visible component of the women's college since it ceded control of undergraduate life to Harvard in 1977.

Because Radcliffe does not have its own faculty or students, the scholarly programs provide the influx of new people and fresh scholarship necessary to sustain the school's independent identity, according to many associated with the programs.

As Jacquelyn B. James, a research associate at the Murray Center, says, "the thing that feels different is there really is a supporting community of women."

And Patricia M. King, director of the Schlesinger Library, says "there's a real feeling that this is a separate entity."

But the issue of Radcliffe's relationship to the high-powered, high-profile scholars down Garden St. is never far from the surface in any discussion of women's scholarship at the University.

Unlike the predominantly male faculty at Harvard, the academics at Radcliffe are mostly women--and they tend to focus on issues associated with gender.

But many Radcliffe affiliates say that the role of the institution is to advocate for women at Harvard--in addition to providing an escape from the traditionally male confines of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.