Calling into question the actions of senior administrators at the Kennedy School of Government, Professor of Public Policy Gary R. Orren was granted tenure in 1988 even though support staff said they were subjected to ongoing verbal abuse, sources said recently.

The complaints against Orren included accusations that he screamed at staff members and made his assistants run personal errands and work on non-professional projects.

The complaints made to senior administrators led to the negotiation of a highly unusual personnel agreement.

As a result of the confidential deal, to which Orren voluntarily agreed, all the professor's future staff members must be warned about his prior abusive behavior before they begin work.

The deal also guarantees staff reassignment upon request with no questions asked, sources say.

The revelations about the circumstances surrounding Orren's tenure appointment in November of 1988 raise serious questions about the actions of administrators at the Kennedy School who dealt with his situation.

University Provost Albert Carnesale, who was academic dean of the Kennedy School at the time of the complaints, was the administrator whom sources say represented the school in the discussions.

And Kennedy School Dean Joseph S. Nye, who was then Dillon professor of international affairs and chair of the Center for Science and International Affairs, was a member of the tenure committee that eventually recommended that Orren be promoted to full professor.

Dillon Professor of Government emeritus Richard E. Neustadt, and Nelson Polsby, now at the University of California at Berkeley's Institute of Government, were also members of Orren's tenure committee.

Carnesale declined to comment on the "specific personnel matter" and referred process questions to the Office of Human Resources at the Kennedy School.

Nye could not be reached for comment, while Neustadt and Polsby were out of the country.

Complaints

According to Maura Barrios, who hired Orren's assistants at the Kennedy School during the late 1980s, four staff assistants who were subjected to Orren's behavior between 1986 and 1989 got together in 1989 and brought the issues to administrative attention.

A fifth woman, who had just been hired, later joined the four other staffers in filing a complaint.

Barrios, who organized the coalition of staff members, said that after the fifth secretary had to face Orren's abusive behavior, the other women decided they should take action.