Geyser University Professor Henry Rosovsky and Richard A. Smith '46 both announced this week their intention to retire in June 1997 from the Harvard Corporation, the University's highest governing body.

Rosovsky, a Fellow of the College since 1985 and presently the only academic on the Corporation, said he decided to retire because of his advancing age.

"I believe in younger people joining the corporation and I am going on 69 this year," Rosovsky said in an interview yesterday. "A certain amount of turn-over is good."

Smith, who is Chair of Harcourt General, Inc., was appointed to the Corporation in 1991, at the age of 67.

At the time of Smith's appointment, it was widely known that his term would be short.

"The Corporation has a tradition, an informal rule, that people retire at age 70," said Charles P. Slichter, a Fellow of the College from 1969 to 1995.

"It was realized when Smith was appointed that he would not be able to serve for a long stretch," Slichter said.

The University has formed a search committee of two Fellows and two Overseers to fill the vacancies in the seven person Corporation.

Though a formal search has yet to begin, members of the search committee said they hope to fill Rosovsky's seat with an academic.

Rosovsky, a professor in the economics department, has been the only academic on the committee since Slichter's retirement in 1995.

"I think it's President [Neil L.] Rudenstine's desire to have one of these vacancies filled with an academic," said Charlotte P. Armstrong, a member of the Board of Overseers who was recently appointed to the search committee.

Presently the majority of Fellows are business leaders, including James R. Houghton, the outgoing Chair of Corning International who replaced Slichter on the board last year.

"It's very important to have the point of view of an academic when you're running an academic institution," Armstrong said.

In addition to Armstrong, the search committee consists of Robert G. Stone Jr., D. Ronald Daniel, both Fellows of the College, and David Johnston, a member of the Board of Overseers.

President Rudenstine will also serve on the search committee in an ex-officio capacity, according to The Harvard Gazette.

The four person search committee is presently accepting nominations to fill the two vacancies on the Corporation.

"We are looking for someone with a breadth of vision and a perceived usefulness to the University...and a love of Harvard," said Armstrong.

Careers of Excellence

Former members of the Corporation laud Rosovsky and Smith for their dedication and service to the University.

"Rosovsky's appointment was quite unusual, as they usually go outside the University [to find corporation members]," Slichter said. "His deep knowledge of Harvard and the great respect in which he was held by the faculty and alumni made him a wonderful selection."

Slichter said Smith was particularly valued for "his understanding of complex financial issues" and for his "wide-ranging mind.