A member of the Undergraduate Council has offered to resign after publishing the winners of the council-sponsored Levenson Prize for Undergraduate Teaching in The Harvard Salient before they had been officially announced.

Matthew L. Bruce '96, the, editor of the Salient, acknowledged yesterday that he was responsible for printing the notice of congratulations which revealed information that was supposed to be kept secret until an awards dinner tonight.

Several Salient staff members and council members said they had been trying to remove all copies of the conservative bi-monthly publication from campus distribution centers since they learned of Bruce's mistake late last week.

Bruce is a member of the council's Student Affairs Committee, which picks the Levenson winners. In an interview last night, he apologized for his mistake but maintained that it was an honest one.

"The incident reflects the fact that human beings are very, very imperfect people and reflects the fact that if somebody in a position of power does something phenomenally stupid it can have disastrous consequences," Bruce said.

The Levenson awards are given annually to the teaching fellow, junior faculty member and senior faculty member who have "contributed the most to undergraduate education," according to Fine.

The issue of the Salient in question had been distributed to several house dining halls and dorm rooms by Thursday. The notice was printed beneath an advertisement for Domino's Pizza on the third page of the May 8 edition.

After learning of what he termed "the problem," Bruce wrote in the electronic mail message to the council saying that he would "try to halt further distribution until Monday." That message was forwarded to The Crimson by a council member requesting anonymity.

Douglas M. Gordon '97,a managing editor of the Salient, said he removed May 8 issues from several distribution centers.

"I don't know if other staffers did that, but that would not necessarily have been against what we wanted done," Gordon said.

But according to Salient Managing Editor William Jay '98, there were no formal instructions from Salient higher-ups to pull issues from distribution centers.

"I can't imagine that I wouldn't have been [consulted about removing them],"Jay said.

Fine said in an interview yesterday afternoon that he didn't know whether members of the council had pulled issues of the Salient from distribution centers around campus.

In an electronic mail message sent by Fine to members of his committee, however, he urged members to remove from circulation as many issues as possible.

In the message, forwarded to The Crimson by a council member requesting anonymity, Fine instructs the committee to "check and see if the Salient has been delivered to your house or dorm."