It is the rare undergraduate who truly cares about the powers that run this colossus of higher education. Stiff-necked bureaucratic types, after all, have little to say about whether you have a keg party in the Yard or dump you roommate into a "psycho-single." (That's left to the stiff-necked proctors and tutors.)

Consequently, few students--or faculty members, for that matter--hear much about what goes on in the depths of Massachusetts and University Halls.

The President

Neil L. Rudenstine has just completed his first year as president of the University. Undergraduates' traditional attitude toward a Harvard president is awe tempered with disdain. But when Rudenstine arrived on campus last year, he quickly emerged as a cult hero. At his lavish inauguration ceremony, admiring first-years ex-pressed their approval with signs reading, "We love you, Neil."

Rudenstine occasionally holds office hours for students who want to go straight to the top with their problems. He has also been willing to get involved in College crises, even to the point of convening a summit on racial issues with undergraduates this spring.

Rudenstine received rave reviews after his first year. Colleagues praise his efforts to build a leadership team that works well together, and to bring together a University that had grown vastly decentralized.

Recently, though, Rudenstine has come under attack from leaders of the clerical and technical workers' union, who say the president "skipped town" during tough labor negotiations. The president's handling of the union--and of his own unruly deans--will be an important test of his leadership when he returns from a trip to Europe this summer. Further ahead, Rudenstine will face the challenge of raising an estimated $2.5 billion as Harvard embarks on the most ambitious capital campaign in the history of higher education.

The Provost

Jerry R. Green took office as provost July 1. He is the first Harvard provost since the World War II era.

Green, an economist, will serve as second-in-command, helping Rudenstine with planning and finances across the University. The newest resident of the Mass. Hall central administration office will also try to foster academic collaboration among Harvard's ten faculties.

The Governing Boards

A few people at Harvard are technically more powerful than the president: the six mysterious Fellows of Harvard College.

The president and Fellows make up the Harvard Corporation, which is invested with ultimate control over the University by colonial charter. This board approves appointments and oversees the allotment of millions of dollars in each year's operating budget.

It's a responsibility that the Corporation takes very seriously. So seriously, in fact, that the body is best known for the secrecy permeating all of its activities.

The Corporation selects its own members for life-long terms. It publishes no minutes of its twice monthly meetings, and most of its members never speak to the press.

The senior member of the corporation is Charles P. Slichter '45, a University of Illinois professor. Legend has it that until recently, Slichter had not spoken to an undergraduate since his own day at Harvard.

Another Corporation member is Henry Rosovsky, In addition to his post there, Rosovsky holds the prestigious Geyser University professorship and is a former dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. A consummate insider, Rosovsky is easily one of the most powerful people at the university--earning his nickname, "Mr. Harvard Yard."

More open, but far less powerful, is the Board of Overseers, the University's secondary governing board. Elected each year by alumni to serve six-year terms, the overseers meet to form committees, approve appointments, from committees, discuss issues and from committees.

A number of famous people sit on the Board, including Sen. Albert Gore Jr. '69 (D-Tenn.), actor John A. Lithgow '67, South African Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu and Red Cross President Elizabeth H. Dole. The Board's president is former ambassador to the Soviet Union Arthur A. Hartman '47.

The Vice Presidents

While most undergraduates have heard of the two governing boards, few know that the University has a team of five vice presidents. These positions were created by former President Derek C. Bok in the 1970s to create a super-bureaucracy for the University.

The most visible of the five is usually the vice president and general counsel, who for many years was Daniel Steiner '54. After 20 years at Harvard, Steiner left this summer, and his successor is still unknown. Rudenstine will probably appoint a new general counsel by the fall; until then, Frank J. Connors will act as Harvard's top lawyer.

John H. Shattuck is frequently in the public eye--because that's his job. As vice president for government, community and public affairs, Shattuck represents Harvard in Cambridge and Washington, D.C.

Fred L. Glimp '50 will likely see his position grow over the next few years, as the University launches its immense fund drive. Glimp, the vice president for alumni affairs and development, is in charge of keeping graduates happy and making sure the money flows in.

Vice President for Finance Robert H. Scott controls and distributes the money once it gets here. It's a big job, considering the University has assets of more than $5 billion.

Until four years ago, Scott was vice president for administration, a post now filled by Sally H. Zeckhauser, Harvard's first woman vice-president. Zeckhauser is responsible for the bulk of the University's massive bureaucracy, including Harvard Real Estate, Harvard Dining Services, Facilities Maintenance and Human Resources.

The Faculty

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) administration is one bureaucratic layer closer to the undergraduate, but don't expect to spend too many Thursday sipping tea with the denizens of University Hall's top floors.

FAS is the biggest and wealthiest of Harvard's ten faculties. It includes everything from Harvard College and the Graduate School of Arts and Science to Widener Library and the Fogg Art Museum.

Rudenstine appointed Jeremy R. Knowles as dean of the Faculty in the spring of 1991. Since then, Knowles has brought a British flair to his task of dealing with a budget crunch and building the ranks of the faculty.

Knowles, like Rudenstine, gets involved when there is a crisis in the College. Knowles can also affect undergraduates by setting academic policy in his work with newly-appointed Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education Lawrence A. Buell.

Buell, a scholar of transcendentalist literature who came to Harvard two years ago, enters his new post this summer. A tough task lies ahead for Buell, who has a slate of issues to tackle ranging from advising to curriculum-all of which need attention desperately.

The College

It takes a while to get down to the level of the accessible administrator. And by the time you reach it, you're far away from the so--called powers that be.

Harvard's lesser deans are in charge of making sure your quality of life is acceptable. The College deals with mundane undergraduate concerns such as discipline and housing.

At the top is Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57. Jewett always looks like he is about to fall asleep, even when he is eating. He wears rumpled, baggy suits. But don't be deceived by his comfortably disheveled appearance.

Jewett sits at the head of the 25-member Administrative Board, which disciplines undergraduates guilty of "conduct unbecoming of a Harvard student." You don't want your first encounter with Jewett to take place at an Ad Board hearing.

Before you graduate, be sure to drop by the Thursday afternoon office hours of Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III. There, you'll be able to bask in his distinctive accent and unique taste in clothing. The dean, who also has a top-notch singing voice, appears to be particularly fond of bow ties, hats and red carnations.

Epps is in charge of a variety of tasks ranging from officially recognizing student organizations to bailing undergraduates out of jail.

Both Jewett and Epps are facing particularly busy years. You may glimpse Jewett wearing a hard-hat while striding through the Yard--he's in charge of the $70 million dorm renovation project. Epps, recently placed in charge of race relations in the college, will have his hands full with that evertense issue.

Hilda Hernandez-Gravelle, the college's first-ever assistant dean for race relations and minority affairs, addresses questions and complaints about racial discrimination. Many undergraduates will also meet Janet A. Viggiani, the College's assistant dean for co-education. Viggiani deals with sexual harassment and gay and lesbian issues, but she is usually willing to talk about anything.

Next year, Yardlings will have a brand-new dean of first-year students, Elizabeth S. Nathans. The former Duke University associate dean has said she plans to modify Harvard's first-year advising system so that students take better advantage of the resources available.

If food is your primary concern, you should talk to Harvard Dining Services Director Michael P. Berry. Berry, known to many students as the "Mealtime Messiah," has dramatically improved the dining services in his year and a half at Harvard. He is legendary for eliminating the dreaded "baked fish pizziola" and for introducing such novelties as premium entree night and make-your-own Belgian waffles.

Radcliffe

And then there's Radcliffe

Radcliffe originally provided women undergraduates with housing, supervision and access to a Harvard education. But when the two colleges conducted their "non-merger merger" in 1973, Radcliffe relinquished its responsibility for daily undergraduate life.

Radcliffe President Linda S. Wilson has a vision of sorts for Radcliffe's future. She wants to expand the institution's fundraising abilities, develop it as a center for scholarship, increase contact between undergraduates and researchers and move the school into "the public policy arena."

Unfortunately, Wilson's goal may further decrease Radcliffe College's role in undergraduate life. At any rate, Wilson will likely remain one of the administrators with the least influence on students.

And Radcliffe will likely remain just an additional word on female graduates' diplomas.