"We made an effort to be optimistic in thebeginning and waited until later to point out theproblems," McCarthy said.

The University needs to establish What McCarthycalled a "critical mass" of minority faculty thatwill feed upon itself.

And McCarthy said that the University is doinga lot both to train and to hire academics.

Harvard has one of the few graduate programs inthe country whose minority numbers havesignificantly increased in recent years. McCarthysaid that more aggressive recruiting tactics andthe establishment of financial support mechanismstargeting minorities were largely responsible forthe growth.

Between 1989 and 1993 according to the report,Harvard's admission of Black and Hispanic Ph.D.candidates more than doubled--Black admits rosefrom 15 to 38; Hispanic admits rose from 8 to 22.The numbers are still extremely low, McCarthyadmitted, but they're a start.

McCarthy said undergraduates are encouraged toconsider academic careers through programs whichenable undergraduates to work closely with facultyon research projects.

McCarthy and Hoyte also cited graduate schoolfellowships designed to provide financial supportfor the potential students, who according toMcCarthy need it most: under representedminorities.

"Typically, minorities graduate from collegewith considerably more debt than students of themajority, and they have considerable fewerresources to fall back on," McCarthy said.

"These are the people we have to fight forbecause they probably see their professionalschool options as being more lucrative thus moreattractive," he added.

Hoyte said another factor which will encourageminority Ph.D. applicants is the perceivedascendancy of the Afro-American studies departmenthere.

"My anecdotal impression is that the conceptionof Harvard as having a new, invigorated interestin being on the cutting edge of a field like[Afro-Am] will help encourage minority scholars ofall levels and in all fields to consider cominghere," Hoyte said.

But despite Harvard's seeming progress inrecruiting minority Ph.D. candidates its apparentmisrepresentation of a national trend remainsdisturbing to Wilson who questions how far Harvardhas really come.

"While other research universities of equalprestige have been serious about tenuringminorities, Harvard's commitment to hiringminority faculty remains rhetorical," WilsonCharged