Others say they believe his management style of considering people in business decision will be good complement for the Overseers.

"I think he's manages a large business in a very humane way," says Richard L. Menschel, a Houghton acquaintance since his Goldman days. "Besides the bottom line he has a humanistic approach, considering the welfare of people."

Top managers at Corning who have worked with Houghton over many years say that his good reputation is deserved.

"I've worked with him for over 20 years and he's a great guy...fun to work with, very principled and extremely organized," says Van C. Campbell, vice chair of Corning.

Campbell adds that he considers one of Houghton's best attributes to be his vision.

Despite the enormous time commitment Houghton has taken on in addition to his numerous other responsibilities, Campbell says he does not believe time will be a problem because of Houghton's organizational skills.

"He's astoundingly well organized, he never forgets anything and keeps everything filed," he says. "I'll walk down the hall and ask Jamie about a something that happened in a meeting in 1979 and he'll find the document from it."

Some, however, say they are concerned that Houghton's responsibilities may be too great.

In addition to his duties at Corning. Houghton is a director of Dow Corning, Corp., Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, J.P. Morgan & Co., Inc. and Exxon Corp. He is also a trustee of the Corning Museum of Glass, the Pierpont Morgan Library and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

"He has a lot of demands on his time. It takes quite a bit of time to run a major corporation and with everything else, I'm not sure he'll have enough of that," says a source close to the University.

Another Executive on the Corporation

Houghton's business resume is clearly impressive. But some observers question the presence of yet another CEO, saying it is indicative of the corporatization of the University's highest governing board.

Observers say relations between the governing boards and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) reached a new low last year, after the Corporation rebuffed one of two FAS recommendations on the issue of faculty benefits.

And when Houghton, a CEO, replaced Charles P. Slichter '45, the Corporation's only science professor, it swayed the balance of the board in the favor of the executives.

But those on the board defend the choice of a business executive. In particular, they say Houghton offers a unique perspective as CEO of a large corporation. And they point out that both of the Corporation's other CEOs, Smith and Stone, are in their 70s and will likely step down soon.