"Anytime you have lots of people with strong ideas competing for resources...there are always going to be some tensions and some choosing," he says.

Harvey V. Fineberg '67, dean of the School of Public Health, says the schools will earn their money by fundraising, not fighting.

"No one, I think, is sitting around thinking that from the heavens is going to fall two or one billion dollars and all you have to do is scrap for it," Fineberg says.

Harvard's smaller schools, which traditionally rely on smaller and less wealthy alumni bases, will be looking for help, Rudenstine hopes the new Universitywideplanning approach will yield opportunities forcollaboration between the poorer and richerschools.

"At least form the vantage point of thisoffice, more help from central administrationwould be greatly appreciated," says Peter G. Rowe,the dean-designate of the Graduate School ofDesign.

Acting Dean of the Graduate School of EducationCatherine E. Snow says the school is in dire needof more funds.

"The School of Education has less than one halfof the endowment dollars per student of the nextlowest graduate school," she says. "It's anembarrassment to the University that students areallowed to be impoverished here as well as whenthey enter society."

But surprisingly, the deans say the planningprocess has fostered more unity than infightingthus far.

Under Rudenstine's plan, the deans sit on eachother's review committees. They see opportunitiesfor academic collaboration between faculties andthey learn that other schools have needs, too. AndProvost-designate Jerry R. Green to the mix, andthere's another voice for University-widecooperation.

Vice President for Alumni Affairs andDevelopment Fred L. Glimp '50 worked with bothformer presidents Nathan M. Pusey '28 and Derek C.Bok. And he, along with other senioradministration officials, says Rudenstine's planis something new.

"Harvard has, to my knowledge, never had anacademic planning process in which we've had thiskind of team unity... That's new, believe it ornot," Glimp says.

Dean of the Kennedy School of Government AlbertM. Carnesale agrees: "This, to the best of myknowledge, is unheard of at Harvard."

Here's how Rudenstine wants the process towork. First, the deans of Harvard's 10 facultiesand the president of Radcliffe independently setacademic priorities for their schools. They maymodify existing strategic plans, or start newdiscussions with their faculty and administrators.

Next, each dean presents the plan in a two-hourreview meeting chaired by Rudenstine. The provostand other related administrators attend thesemeetings, as well as about three deans from otherHarvard faculties.

For example, Radcliffe President Linda S.Wilson and the deans of the Business School,School of Public Health and School of Educationsit on the planning review committee for theKennedy School of Government.

The academic plans are then modified andbrought back to the same panel. At this secondmeeting, the dean presents as assessment of thelong term financial implications of the academicplan.