Joe Wrinn, director of the Harvard News Office, said the University will make no further comment on Coles or his proposal at this time.

As he did last week, Wrinn affirmed the administration's respect for Coles, a Pulitzer Prize winner who has written more than 50 books, Including Children of Crisis and The Moral Life of Children.

Coles has said that he wasn't giving the University a "threat" by publicly stating his position.

But Coles stated clearly that if his request is rejected, Harvard will lose his services as a teacher and researcher.

"If it didn't work out...I would try to find a place and a situation where it would work out," he said.

Last night, Coles said he agreed with Rudenstine's assertion that talks about a faculty public service initiative should continue in private.

"My response to that is that I agree with him," Coles said. "I am hopeful about it."

Coles said the president has been supportive of his plan to involve Harvard faculty in Phillips Brooks House (PBH) community service projects during the upcoming summer.

"I have been extremely pleased with the president's interest in that summer program, and in no way did I feel the need to challenge him about it because he has been enthusiastic from the beginning," Coles said.

Coles said he visited PBH service projects with Rudenstine and PBH Executive Director Greg A. Johnson '72 last summer.

"[Rudenstine] has personally visited those projects and he cares deeply about those projects and the students and the people they serve," Coles said. "I have every hope that we are going to get it institutionalized because that has been his hope from the beginning."

Unlike Harvard, Duke has a community service program involving student volunteers and faculty.

Weintraub said the initiative, which involves the three schools in the North Carolina research triangle, is associated with Duke's Center for Documentary Studies, where Coles works when he is in the state.

Coles said yesterday that he hopes any faculty-student service initiative at Harvard will be in place by next summer.

"If we were going to have a summer program," he said, "I would think that by next summer it would become obvious what we're going to do.