While controversy rages over minority hiring at Harvard Law School, four professors await a decision on whether they will be invited to join the ranks of the school's tenured faculty members.

Within the next month, members of the University's governing boards will vote for or against confirmation of the Law School faculty's February decision to extend tenure to Henry Hansman, Robert H. Mnookin '64, Joseph Singer and Joel H. H. Weiler.

Student minority hiring activists responded angrily to news of the decision to tenure the four men, all of whom they say are white. Students claimed that the Law Schools is violating a policy stating that visiting professors can be considered for tenure only once they have left the school.

Law School officials maintain that the admissions committee voted to overturn this policy last year, after two Black female visiting professors were not granted tenure. Mnookin and Weiler have both left the Law School and would not have been affected by the policy.

Hansman, an economic and legal scholar, is teaching an introductory corporate law course at the school this semester. He is currently on leave from Yale, where he has been a tenured professor since 1983.

Mnookin currently directs the Stanford Center on Conflict and Negotiation and would replace Williston Professor of Law Roger Fisher, who will retire at the end of this year.

Singer said his areas of specialization are property law, conflicts of law and Native American law.

Weiler directs the Academy of European Law at the European University Institute in Italy. A professor at Michigan Law School, Weiler is an expert on international, comparative and European law.

At an open forum last week, Law School Dean Robert C. Clark referred to the four professors as a political package, arranged so they would be approved by a divided faculty.

The debate between critical legal studies and conservative scholars has paralyzed the Law School's appointments process, Clark said.

Students characterized Hansman as "fairly conservative." "He's probably the more conservative member of the package," said third-year law student Pat G. Paul.

Singer, who has been a visiting professor here since January, is a critical legal studies scholar, according to students in his property class.

Mnookin was characterized as slightly left of center and "an accessible professor" by third-year law student Marcia L. Narine.

Hansman said he had not decided whether he will accept the tenure offer if it is approved and that he had not spoken with Clark about what he would teach next year.

"I'm pleased and flattered," said Hansman. "It's an enormously prominent institution with an excellent faculty and excellent student body."

Hansman declined to comment on the question of whether the Law School discriminates in its hiring. "I don't know about the appointments policy," Hansman said. "I would be out of place to make a judgment about that."

Singer also refused to comment on the appointments policy. Yesterday, student activists said, 40 law students delivered a letter to Singer requesting that he postpone his acceptance until a minority professor is hired.