In the fall of 1991, Rudenstine deferred taking action on the two issues which have consistently plagued his presidency--diversity and fundraising.

Rudenstine refused to take a stance on maintaining Harvard's ties with the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC). Many on campus had argued that the military's ban on homosexuals was in direct conflict with the University's policy of nondiscrimination.

Instead, the president appointed a committee, chaired by Pforzheimer University Professor Sidney Verba, to make a recommendation on the University's funding of Harvard students enrolled in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ROTC program.

Verba's report demanded that the University cut all ties with ROTC by the spring of 1993. But Rudenstine delayed making a decision until last week.

In the interim, student groups repeatedly demanded that the president take action on the issue. Last spring, with Rudenstine a full year past the Verba report's deadline, leaders of the Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Student Association (BGLSA) and the Civil Liberties Union of Harvard (CLUH) presented the president with hundreds of petitions asking him to cut ties with ROTC.

When he acted, he found a solution that he called a compromise. It was pragmatic, and for now seems to have pleased both sides. While he recommended to the Corporation that the University continue funding ROTC, he attempted to meet the Verba report's demands by limiting that funding to designated alumni donations.

It would not be the only time that the president's commitment to promoting tolerance of homosexuality was called into question. In the spring of 1993, campus gay groups protested when the Corporation and Board of Overseers chose former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Colin L. Powell as the Commencement speaker for 1993.

Powell's endorsement of the military's ban on homosexuals at first made him a lightning rod for campus criticism. Rudenstine had actually argued against the choice, but was forced to defend it publicly.

In the end, Powell turned out to be Rudenstine's best ally. His Commencement speech was disarming, and the general drew praise from several protesters.

Fundraising

The $2.1 billion capital campaign has gone more smoothly. But it has also been a mighty test of the president's endurance. When he was too tired to work on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, the president missed fundraising appointments in New York City.

From the moment Rudenstine arrived at Harvard, he was faced with the daunting task of organizing huge a University-wide fund raising effort, He halted capital campaign plans that had been made under former President; Derek C. Bok in order to reevaluate the needs of the school and use the fundraising effort to shape his vision of Harvard.

The examination and discussion process was not easy. Harvard's schools have traditionally operated on the "every tub on its own bottom" approach, and Rudenstine sought to change that with the University-wide campaign.

After two years of planning the University Campaign, this largest fund drive in the history of higher education kicked off last May with close to one-third of the money already raised.

That is not to say the process will be easy. Rudenstine himself has emphasized the extreme difficulty in averaging the necessary $1 million a day. In the first five months, the fundraising has already proved arduous.