Barring any fundraising problems, construction of the new humanities center will begin in March 1996, according to Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles.

Knowles said that $9 to $10 million still must be raised before the project is fully financed, but construction can begin before the entire sum is raised.

The Freshman Union will be transformed into "an attractive, light-filled" humanities megaplex, housing departments from Folklore and Mythology to Women's Studies, according to Philip Parsons, director of planning for Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS).

The humanities center will house to 10 academic departments.

According to Parsons, the center is designed to foster "a sense of academic community" among and within humanities departments by increasing faculty and student contact across departments.

Parsons, who began work on the humanities center project nearly eight years ago, said the center is designed to solve widespread space shortages in humanities departments.

"A lot of faculty still don't have departmental space," said Parsons. Even worse, he said, is the situation for teaching fellows and graduate students.

One member of the history and literature office said his office was originally concerned about being squeezed in the allocation of space in the new building.

Professor of English and American Literature and Language Daniel G. Donoghue, who is chair of the Committee on Degrees in History and Literature, said that the administrative offices of the department will be separated from the tutors, who are being placed in the basement.

We're not that dismayed. given the adjustment that everyone had to make," Donoghue said.

He said history and literature will accept less space for their tutors than they had in their former offices in Burr Hall. They will sacrifice the total square footage in return for more offices, Donoghue said.

Some humanities departments that will not relocate to the complex have voiced concerns about being alienated.

Irene Winter, chair of the fine arts department, said she did not want the humanities departments not moving into the center, including fine arts and music, to be forgotten.

Parsons said the proximity of most of these departments to the new humanities center will not exclude these departments.

The new center sits at the apex of a V-Configuration of humanities buildings, with the museums of Quincy Street on one side and a line of humanities buildings from Boylston Hall to Widener and Lamont Libraries on the other.

Many of the department not included in the center also have their own specialized facilities.

"Besides, you can't move philosophy out of Emerson Hall!" Parsons said.

Historical Preservation

Another concern associated with the construction of the new center was the preservation of the history of the Union.

According to Parsons, the renovation of the Union "makes the past better serve the present." He said ultraconservative preservationists may object to any change in the historic building, but the restoration will allow students and faculty to make full use of the facility.

Charlie Sullivan, President of the CambridgeHistorical commission, said he agreed withparsons.

"Harvard has done an excellent job renovatingthe Freshman dormitories and Memorial Hall...andtheir treatment of the exterior [of the Union] isadmirable," he said.

Sullivan, however, said he is concerned withthe changes inside the Union, which includesplitting the dining hall horizontally andvertically, adding a level and a staircase.

"We regret the loss of the main dining hall,but the program calls for 183 faculty offices,"Sullivan said. "[And we have] encouraged Harvardto think further about preserving the features ofthe dining hall.

Jean Goody, whose architectural firm Goody andClancy designed the center, said the renovationslet the Union "fulfill its original mission."

According to Goody, it used to be a social clubfor undergraduates. The center will provide"opportunities to meet each other and overcomebarriers in fields," she said.

Goody said that the plans preserve the Union'soriginal wood panelling and fireplaces.

According to Warren Little, executive directorof the Cambridge Historical Society, therenovators also plan to preserve the moose headand the ones from former President TheodoreRoosevelt class of 1880's hunting days.

But Little said he is still concerned about theplaques on the Union walls dedicated to variousclasses.

"Harvard spends very little time and effortcaring for its history," he said