Brilliant scholar. Talented administrator. Fine intellectual. And good with people.

Ask the friends and colleagues of any Harvard presidential candidate still in the running, and they will tell you that theirs fits this description to a tee.

Each of the eight highly regarded men who have emerged from a starting field of hundreds has a fair shot at one of the most influential posts in the realm of education. The names are different but the praise--from faculty and administrators--sounds suspiciously the same.

Earlier this month, Charles P. Slichter Jr. '45, chair of the secretive presidential search committee, revealed a short list of candidates to the Board of Overseers and invited members of the alumni-elected governing body to comment on the eight finalists.

Sources say that search committee members told the overseers they would probably present a final candidate for approval at the Board's next meeting, in April.

And although University spokesperson Peter Costa suggested this week that a decision might be made in mid-March, he did not rule out the possibility of an April announcement.

Until the big day--whether it comes in March or April--the eight-member presidential search committee will undoubtedly be working toward forging a consensus on a single lucky individual.

Indeed, the search committee appears to have stepped up the pace of its activities. In the last several weeks, at least five of the candidates have been interviewed by the committee at meetings in Boston, New York and Chicago.

According to sources close to the selection process, the following candidates are still under consideration:

* Stephen G. Breyer, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit, and former professor at Harvard Law School.

* Gerhard Casper, provost of the University of Chicago and former dean of the university's law school.

* Martin S. Feldstein '61, Baker professor of economics and former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers in Washington, D.C.

* Donald C. Hood, professor of psychology and former vice president of arts and sciences at Columbia University.

* Jeremy R. Knowles, Houghton professor of chemistry and biochemistry and former chair of Harvard's chemistry department.

* Philip Leder '56, Andrus professor of genetics and chair of the genetics department at Harvard Medical School.

* Michael B. McElroy, Rotch professor of atmospheric science and chair of Harvard's earth and planetary sciences department.

* Neil L. Rudenstine, executive vice president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and former provost of Princeton University.

Of the candidates remaining on the list, three are said to be the frontrunners--Feldstein, Leder and Rudenstine. The three widely differing academics, observers suggest, represent sharply contrasting visions for the future of the university.

And there have been indications in recent weeks that the committee may have reached a deadlock over the three top contenders and may be taking a closer look at some of the other scholars on the short list.

All three of the leading candidates fit a number of the criteria that the search committee described in a letter to students and alumni earlier this year--respected scholarship, administrative skill and Harvard ties. But so do most of the other candidates, and no candidate is perfect. In fact, each of the candidates currently under consideration has drawbacks.

Leader, widely rumored to be a strong contender early on in the search process, alienated some faculty members by his decision to turn down a joint appointment to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences in the early 1980s.

That fact has raised questions among some

NEIL L. RUDENSTINE

Age: 56

Occupation: Executive vice president, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation since 1987.

Education: Princeton University, B.A. 1956.

Oxford University, B.A. 1959 (Rhodes scholar).

Harvard University, M.A. 1963, Ph.D. 1964.

Academic Field: Renaissance literature

Experience: Provost, Princeton University 1977-87.

Dean of the college, Princeton University 1972-77.

Professor of English and dean of students, Princeton University 1968-72

Asst. Professor of English, Harvard University 1966-68.

Strengths: Experienced administrator. Doctorate and some experience at Harvard. Only humanist among the final candidates.

Weaknesses: Has refused repeatedly to become a presidential candidate for other universities. No longer in academia.

Personal: Born January 21, 1935 in Ossining, N.Y. Married, 3 children.

Trivia: Opera lover.

JEREMY R. KNOWLES

Age: 55

Occupation: Houghton professor of chemistry and biochemistry. Harvard University since 1979.

Education: Oxford University, B.A. 1959.

Oxford University, M.A. and D.Phil 1961.

Academic Field: Bio-organic chemistry

Experience: Chair, department of chemistry, Harvard University 1980-83.

Professor of chemistry. Harvard 1974-79.

University lecturer, Oxford 1966-74.

Miscellaneous: Reportedly turned down the FAS deanship in 1984.

Strengths: Respected senior faculty member at Harvard. Personable and successful fundraiser for the chemistry department.

Weaknesses: No Harvard degree. Foreign-born.

Personal: Born April 28, 1935 in Rugby, U.K. Married, 3 children.

Trivia: Plays classical piano.

MARTIN S. FELDSTEIN '61

Age: 51

Occupation: Baker professor of economics. Harvard University since 1984.

Education: Harvard College, A.B. 1961 summa cum laude.

Oxford University, M.A. 1964, D.Phil. 1967.

Academic Field: Economics

Experience: Professor of economics, Harvard 1969-84.

Chair, Council of Economic Adivsers 1982-84.

President, Nat'l Bureau for Economic Research 1977-present.

Assoc. professor of economics, Harvard 1968-69.

Asst. professor of economics, Harvard 1967-68.

Miscellaneous: Teaches popular introductory economics course at Harvard.

Strengths: Graduate of Harvard College. Respected senior faculty member at Harvard. Experience in national politics and well-respected in Washington. One of the nation's foremost economists.

Weaknesses: Controversial stint with the Reagan Administration.

Personal: Born June 2, 1931 in New York City.

Married, two daughters.

Trivia: Enjoys chopping wood at Vermont home.

STEPHEN G. BREYER

Age: 52

Occupation: Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit since 1990.

Education: Stanford University, A.M. 1959

Oxford University, B.A. 1961.

Harvard Law School, LL.B. 1964 magna cum laude.

Academic Field: Administrative and antitrust law.

Experience: Circuit Judge 1980-present.

Professor of Law, Harvard Law School 1970-80.

Professor, Kennedy School of Government 1977-80.

Asst. Professor of Law, Harvard Law School 1967-70.

Miscellaneous: Former candidate for Law School Dean. Largely responsible for airline deregulation legislation and national sentencing guidelines.

Strengths: Graduate of Law School. Previous experience at Law School and Kennedy School. Experience in national politics and excellent reputation in Washington.

Weaknesses: Considered an outsider, since he gave up professorship at the Law School. No clear experience in undergraduate education.

Personal: Born August 15, 1938 in San Francisco California. Married, three children.

Trivia: Avid jogger.

PHILIP LEDER '56

Age: 56

Occupation: Andrus professor of genetics and chair, department of genetics, Harvard Medical School since 1980.

Education: Harvard College, B.A. 1956, cum laude.

Harvard Medical School, M.D. 1960.

Academic Field: Genetics

Experience: Chief, Laboratory of Molecular Genetics at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 1972-80.

President, Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences, NIH 1971-73.

Strengths: Graduated from Harvard College. Nationally recognized scientist. Currently a professor at Harvard.

Weaknesses: Little experience in academic administration. No clear experience in undergraduate education.

Personal: Born November 19, 1934 in Washington, D.C. Married, 3 children.

Trivia: Enjoys listening to classical music.

DONALD C. HOOD

Age: 49

Occupation: Professor of psychology, Columbia University since 1969.

Education: SUNY Binghamton, B.A. 1965.

Brown University, M.Sc. and Ph.D. 1969.

Academic Field: Early vision study.

Experience: Vice president for arts and sciences, Columbia 1982-85

Chair, psychology department 1975-1978.

Miscellaneous: Has written several papers on institutional organization.

Strengths: Popular professor. Highly respected administrator.

Weaknesses: No experience at Harvard.

Personal: Married, no children.

Trivia: Enjoys watching baseball games; a Mets fan.

GERHARD CASPER

Age: 53

Occupation: Provost, University of Chicago since 1989.

Education: Universities of Freiberg i.Br. and Hamburg, law degree 1961.

Yale Law School, LL.M. 1962.

University of Freiberg i.Br., Dr. Iur, utr. 1964.

Academic Field: Constitutional law and history.

Experience: Dean, U. of Chicago Law School 1979-87.

Professor of Law, U. of Chicago 1969-present.

Assoc. Professor of Law, U. of Chicago 1966-69.

Professor of Political Science, U. of Chicago 1967-78.

Miscellaneous: Former candidate for Harvard Law School Dean. Widely seen as the successor to Chicago President Hanna H. Gray.

Strengths: Excellent reputation among students, faculty and administrators. Record as a good fundraiser. Works closely with Gray who is on the search committee.

Weaknesses: No experience at Harvard University.

Personal: Born December 25, 1937 in Hamburg, Germany. Married, one daughter.

Trivia: Enjoys reading Proust in the evenings.

MICHAEL B. MCELROY

Age: 51

Occupation: Rotch professor of atmospheric science and chair, earth an planetary sciences department, Harvard University since 1986.

Education: Queen's University, B.A. 1960.

Queen's University, Ph.D. 1962.

Academic Field: Atmospheric science

Experience: Rotch professor of atmospheric science, Harvard 1970 to present.

Director, Harvard Center for Earth and Planetary Physics 1975-78. Member, 1970-86.

Physicist, Kitt Peak National Observatory 1963-70.

Project associate, University of Wisconsin Theoretical Chemistry Institute, 1962-63.

Strengths: Currently a professor at Harvard. Respected scientist and expert on atmospheric matters. Well- known in Washington.

Weaknesses: No Harvard degree. Foreign-born.

Personal: Born May 18, 1939 in Shercock, Ireland. Married, two children.

Trivia: Plays a mean game of tennis. professors about his committment to undergraduate education.

"Does the man even know how to spell undergraduate?" asked one senior professor.

The search committee has received at least one negative response to Leder's candidacy, from a resident of his home town of Brookline.

Some Brookline residents have criticized Leader for his role as founding director of the Brookline Environmental Protection Association, which opposes the town's plans to build a municipal garage in his well-to-do suburban neighborhood.

Leder's detractors insist that repeated studies have concluded the garage proposal to be environmentally sound. They charge that Leder's motives are strictly personal.

"I hope that Harvard will not choose as its president someone so ready to use the very selfish argument 'not in my backyard,'" wrote John Bassett '60 in a letter to the committee.

If Leder is a controversial figure in the politics of Brookline, Feldstein has been lightning rod of criticism in national politics.

While a leading economic adviser during the Reagan presidency, Feldstein took the unusual route of airing his disagreements with the administration's policy decisions publicly. Past federal economic advisers have generally refrained from open criticism of the president's policies.

As a result, political clashes between Feldstein and other members of the Reagan Administration frequently made front page news.

Despite the political infighting, some still see Feldstein as tied to the Reagan administration. And although observers say his conservative politics will not hurt his candidacy, it has at least raised eyebrows among some students and faculty members. Although Feldstein's policy proposals are far from chapter and verse Reaganomics, he is an outspoken critic of social welfare programs.

Among some observers, the inevitable question is whether "the Kremlin on the Charles" is ready for a diehard free market economist.

The big question about Neil Rudenstine, on the other hand, is why he bowed out of consideration for the Princeton presidency in 1987. Many Princeton observers say they were surprised and disappointed that the longtime Princeton administrator, considered by many an obvious choice for president, left the university for the Mellon Foundation.

Rudenstine has also reportedly declined to become a candidate for the presidencies of a number of other universities. In fact, in 1987 he told the Daily Princetonian, the Princeton student newspaper, that he had no desire to be the president of any university.

He explained to the newspaper that he did want to give up what he enjoys-humanities and the arts-to assume "external" responsibilities such as fundraising and relations with the government, other universities and alumni "an enormous number of things to which the president simply must give his time."

"My own assessment, quite honestly, is that those tasks on the outside are those that I would be less good at. They are less close to my heart," he said.

Indeed, some observers say it is hard to discern Rudenstine's accomplishments as provost from those of former Princeton President William Bowen.

And some say Rudenstine's decision to leave academia and follow Bowen to the Mellon Foundation could hurt his chances at getting Harvard's top post.

Similarly, Breyer's decision to leave his professorship at the Law School to accept an appointment to the circuit court could be a drawback.

And although both Hood and Casper have distinguished records in their academic fields and in university administration, neither has spent any time at Harvard, whether as a student or as a professor.

While McElroy is a popular department chair and teacher, he is considered by some to be an unlikely choice because he was raised and educated in Ireland. Similarly, Knowles was born in England and attended Oxford University. He also reportedly turned down the FAS deanship in 1984