Even when Harvard was not facing a threat fromthe extreme left or right, the Corporation hasbeen mindful of how the presidency is in many waysa national office with national responsibilities.

"The nature of the choice is influential in theechoes it creates elsewhere," Blum says.

In fact, Riesman says, one of the few thingsHarvard's recent presidents had in common was that"everyone had a mission beyond Harvard, both foreducation and for the country as a whole." Forboth Bok and Conant, that meant spearheadingefforts to reform the nation's secondary schools.

But the high visibility of the Harvardpresidency could make it a dangerous instrument ifentrusted to the wrong candidate, McLaughlinwarns.

"The president of Harvard has the potential fora bully pulpit that nobody else has in quite thesame way," she says.

It is for that reason, in part, that theCorporation has always been reluctant to conferthe presidency on anyone who did not already haveties to the University. In fact, Bok, a Law Schoolgraduate and former dean, was the first presidentsince the 17th century who was not an alumnus ofthe College.

Another fairly constant feature has been therelative youth of the Corporation's appointees.Bok was 40 when chosen; only one president sincethe 1860s has been over 50.

That's no accident, according to Blum.

"Old men should no longer be running thisworld, including Harvard," he says. "It needssomeone under 45. It needs energy, youth, andoptimism."

By choosing young candidates, the Corporationhas also given presidents the chance to remain inoffice and shape policy for decades. The terms ofBok and his four immediate predecessors haveaveraged nearly 25 years each.

That trend, McLaughlin says, means it is evenmore crucial that the Corporation choosecarefully.

"The search is a time for stock-taking, forlooking at where we are," she says. "Forinstitutions that have presidents with longertenures, that's a more important process."

Difficult Questions Ahead

It is this process of self-scrutiny that, as inthe past, Harvard must go through before the nextpresident is chosen, says John Isaacson, a HarvardLaw School alumnus who founded a firm that advisesinstitutional searches.

"The first stage in the search should be todecide what results the University shouldaccomplish in the next few years, to ask thequestion, 'How would we know in five years that wemade the right selection?'," he says. "The searchis a success when the search committee is willingto ask itself missionary questions and makechoices among outcomes, rather than letting thecandidates choose for them. The choice of outcomesthen guides them toward the type of candidate theywant to consider."

And looking toward the future, Isaacson says,means asking difficult questions about the past.

"They should ask, 'What does the Universitywant to accomplish?' That's a question that willscare them, because it means looking back at whatBok has done and how that can be improved."

So while some may envy Harvard's currentkingmakers, a veteran of the last search saysthere is no reason for jealousy.

"It's a very serious business looking for aHarvard president," Blum says. "I'm glad I don'thave to do it again."