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The 'Rationalist Philosopher' at Harvard's Head

President Derek C. Bok

This impatience often expresses itself as a disdain for activist rhetoric, and chants like "Derek Bok, get the word, this is not Johannesburg" only harden the president's resolve not to cave in to outside pressure.

"He won't change his position just because criticism becomes public," says Corporation member and Geyser University Professor Henry Rosovsky.

And within the administration, Bok's colleagues are more willing to rely on his judgment because he seems better prepared than other administrators.

"If he makes a decision and it's not a decision I would have made, my first reaction is to think that there's something I missed," says Riesman.

'A Great Deal of Autonomy'

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Bok's fellow members of the Corporation--which has ultimate say on all areas of University policy--have quietly ceded much of their authority to the president because of his apparent thoroughness.

"When you've got someone in his position that you've got a lot of confidence in, he has a great deal of autonomy," O'Brien says.

And because he makes a point of preparing himself, observers say Bok is more willing to act against the recommendations of independent advisory committees when making deanship and faculty appointments.

For instance, Bok defied the majority of a Law faculty advisory committee in choosing Clark for the deanship, and has often overruled departmental recommendations in refusing to tenure scholars in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Riesman says Bok usually reads junior faculty members' scholarly work himself before granting them lifetime posts.

"This is possible for a president at Carleton College or Williams, but it's very remarkable for the president of a great university," Riesman says.

Because of Bok's time-consuming self-reliance, co-workers say he often comes across as a distant figure, one who is more likely to fire off a quick substantive question than engage in office banter.

"Derek earns more respect than warmth and affection," O'Brien says. "I've never quite worked around anyone who was as free of gossip. Personalities were never something that fascinated him, as they almost always are in a university."

Bok's "austere" personality may stem from his upbringing, according to some who know him.

"He comes from a family of solemnity and seriousness," Riesman says, noting that Bok's mother was a friend of writers W.H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood. "He grew up in an environment of high seriousness, and he maintains that."

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