Dalton yesterday said her case was strong, and suggested that Harvard discriminated against her for reasons beside her sex. While gender influenced the decision to deny her tenure, she said, her scholarly approaches were also relevant.

"I was the wrong kind of woman," she said.

Dalton said she is both "a critical theorist and a feminist theorist," and that in 1987 the school was split ideologically between traditional viewpoints, critical legal studies approaches and other methodologies. Harvard perhaps "has more trouble accepting nontraditional" research approaches, Dalton said.

Clark denies Dalton's research focus influencedthe 1987 tenure decision.

"I think it was a question of the quality of[Dalton's research]," not the focus, he said.

And while "some faculty think more highly ofcertain viewpoints," Clark said, tenure decisionsare based on the quality of scholarship.

"There's a...desire to get someone who doesfeminist law well," Clark said.

But other Law School professors interviewedlast night disagreed with Clark's assessment ofthe Dalton case. These professors said the LawSchool is still somewhat divided over gender andlegal ideological issues.

Harvard Law School today has the same number oftenured women as it did in 1987--four. Clark saidthe school has hired three new non-tenured womenprofessors recently.

Clark said the recruitment of female professorsis a "continuing objective and program" and thesituation is "getting better all the time."

But one professor interviewed last night oncondition of anonymity said "it has not improvedat all" for women at Harvard Law since Dalton'sdeparture.

"I think most people thought Clare would havewon," the professor said. "I think gender played aprominent role in it, as it does with manywomen... They like their women not outspoken."

The professor also said Harvard is not usuallyas welcoming to potential faculty members withalternative scholarly approaches, such as afeminist perspective.

Last year, feminist legal scholar CatherineMacKinnon failed to get the two-thirds votenecessary for a Harvard tenure offer.

But another Law School professor said thatwhile gender discrimination influenced the Daltoncase, ideological divides are slightly narrowerthan they once were.

"They've healed somewhat," the professor said."They occupy less of our time."

As for Dalton, she said she had no desire toreturn to Harvard. "I fit at Northeastern," shesaid