Although the group never elected enough Overseers actually to change the University's stance on divestment, its members and former officials say they believe its efforts were worth-while nonetheless.
"I think a lot of issues got raised inside and outside the board," Said-man says.
And Wolff says, "I think we mobilized a large number of socially conscious alumni."
HRAAA-nominated Overseers and HRAAA officials repeatedly emphasize that they are not focused only on the one issue of divestment. The Alumni Association seems to disagree.
"I don't have a lot of support in my mind or my heart for people who have one particular issue that they're interested in at the expense of everything else," says John P. Reardon '60, executive director of the Alumni Association, adding that he believes non-petition candidates are already socially responsible.
But Reardon says, "I would hope that the University can always work well with any of the alumni that our electorate feel want to be on that board."
Transition Year
The first year of President Neil L. Rudenstine's administration has been one of transition and adjustment for the Corporation, the University's seven-member chief governing board.
"The main thing the Corporation did was get acquainted with Neil and Neil with us," says Corporation Treasurer D. Ronald Daniel, who describes the new president as "a very good questioner as well as a good listener."
The Corporation also chose a new member, Richard A. Smith, age 67, to replace the late Gilette CEO Colman M. Mockler '52. Two other Corporation members, Robert G. Stone Jr. '45 and Charles P. Slichter '45, are approaching 70, the age at which members traditionally step down.
Stone's fundraising acumen will be missed if he steps down, Daniel says, as will be Slichter's contributions as one of only two academics on the board.
In other developments, the Board of Overseers this year moved closer to a committee recommendation on the University's needs in computers and technology.
Also, the Board has formed a new committee on the arts, chaired by actor John A. Lithgow '67.
Next year, former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union Arthur A. Hartman '47 will take over from financier Franklin D. Raines '71 as the board's chair.