Neil L. Rudenstine has been approached by presidential search committees before, and each time he has declined to become a candidate. But the top post at Harvard may prove to be an offer he can't refuse.

Rudenstine, the 56-year-old executive vice president at the New York-based Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, may well be the search committee's selection for the Harvard presidency. At a special meeting Sunday, Rudenstine is expected to meet with the Board of Overseers, the University's alumni-elected governing body which must approve his nomination.

Although Rudenstine has held his current post at the Mellon Foundation for the last three years, most of his career prior to 1987 was spent in university administration. The Mellon Foundation is one of the nation's largest philanthropic institutions.

Over the course of 20 years, Rudenstine, whose academic filed is Renaissance literature, held almost every major administrative position at Princeton University. Most recently he served as the university's provost for 10 years, working closely with former Princeton President William G. Bowen.

"During the last 15 years that he was at Princeton, he was something very close to the alter ego of the president," says Thomas H. Wright, a vice president at the university.

"They were complimentary to each other," Wright says, "It was a truly remarkable leadership period for Princeton."

When Bowen left Princeton to become director of the Mellon Foundation in 1987, many viewed Rudenstine as Bowen's logical successor. Instead, however, he followed Bowen to the Foundation.

Carl Wartenburg, an assistant to Bowen and to the current president, Harold T. Shapiro, said members of the Princeton community were disappointed that Rudenstine was not interested in filling Bowen's position.

"Had he chosen to be a candidate for president, he would have been a very popular choice," said Wartenburg, who assembled the on-campus presidential selection committee.

Wartenburg said Rudenstine has been sought after by a number of other universities as a possible presidential candidate, but he has always chosen to abstain.

"He's an extraordinary person, with considerable administrative acumen...It would have to be a place as extraordinary as Harvard [for him to take a position as president]," Wartenburg said.

The Humanist

As the sole humanist among the reported presidential finalists, Rudenstine seems a popular choice among members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, particularly those in fields close to his own interests.

While the social sciences have thrived under Bok, who has placed development of the Kennedy School of Government among his top priorities, many professors say that departments in the humanities have begun to decline for want of adequate attention and funding.

"It would be a great shot in the arm to the humanities at Harvard to have a humanist as president," says Professor of English Marjorie Garber, who is also the Faculty's associate dean for affirmative action.

Garber says the Mellon Foundation, where Rudenstine currently works, has been "wonderfully supportive" of research in the humanities.

Harvard Roots

Although Rudenstine did not graduate from the College--once an unofficial prerequisite for the Harvard presidency--he earned a Ph.D at the University in 1964. He then remained in the English Department as an assistant professor for four years.

Lowell Professor of the Humanities William Alfred remembers Rudenstine, a former Rhodes scholar, as a skilled literary critic, commenting, "He had a wonderful, subtle sense of what makes a book really a book."

In 1968, Rudenstine returned to Princeton, where he had graduated summa cum laude in 1956. After four years as a professor of English and dean of students, he became dean of the college in 1972.

Rudenstine continued to teach occasional English courses during his time as an administrator at Princeton. Since going to the Mellon Foundation, he has continued to lead a popular Shakespeare seminar for first-year Princeton students.

Rudenstine's colleagues speak highly of his scholarship and teaching. "He's accessible and friendly, and has an obvious command of the material," says A. Walter Litz, a professor of English at Princeton.

They also praise his skill at administration. While provost, Rudenstine was in charge of academic development and budget recommendations, as well as long-range financial planning.

Wright describes Rudenstine as particularly effective in strengthening the university's academic departments, particularly in the sciences. "[Starting] from nothing really, he built a small but very powerful department of molecular biology," Wright says.

In addition, Rudenstine saw the university through its transition to co-education. "He had a very strong hand in making that a smooth transition," says Litz.

Background

Rudenstine is the author of Sidney's Poetic Development, published in 1967, and an editor of English Poetic Satire: Wyatt to Byron, published in 1972.

Rudestine was born in Ossining, N.Y. He is married to Angelica Zander Rudestine, an art historian and curator who chairs the visiting committee on the Harvard Department of Fine Arts. They have three children.

Rudestine is said to be fond of opera. This article first appeared in The Harvard Crimson several weeks ago.