The situation has led them to question whether Radcliffe, which delegated all management of undergraduate instruction and affairs to Harvard in 1977, is still alive.

No-Win Situation for Harvard

Radcliffe administrators say the report felt like salt on Radcliffe's wounds.

Tamar March, dean of educational programs and director of Radcliffe Undergraduate Programs, says Knowles should have consulted Radcliffe simply "as a collegial courtesy."

"We believe that making common cause with Harvard would be far more productive than to be oppositional, but I think by us feeling left out of the conversation, there are some understandable feelings that develop," she says.

"There continues to be a sense in which symbolically we are excluded from the table, from important conversations," March adds.

March and Wilson do give Harvard administrators credit for trying to understand women's issues, but according to Wilson, many alumnae are angry because they believe the report overlooked Radcliffe's many contributions.

"There was nothing new to us in that report because we have been interacting with alumnae for years," she says. "My Harvard colleagues have gotten caught up in the competitive mode when we really could be more useful to students and alumni through collaboration."

But Harvard administrators complain that they are trapped in a no-win situation.

Knowles says his report was an attempt to improve communication with alumnae.

"The report had to be a Harvard initiative because we have been perceived as neglectful. We should do something about it," he says. "Now when we do something, please don't call that improper too."

Some alumnae, like Honey J. Skinner '78, say they are pleased with Knowles' report.

"We think it's a timely articulation by Harvard of issues that are near and dear to [it and] to its women, and we're encouraged by that kind of leadership," she says.

Skinner, president of the Radcliffe College Alumnae Association, wrote to Knowles inviting him to speak at the annual meeting of the association in June.

Knowles was writing a response to Skinner last week but says he will be unable to attend the meeting because his schedule is already packed full.