According to Knowles, he and Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 are "concerned that Harvard do away with the inattentive habits of the past."

The Knowles report states that in 1995 and 1996, senior Harvard administrators conferred with 400 alumnae across the country. Last fall, Knowles met with 20 alumnae leaders to discuss the issues raised in the panels.

In addition, Lewis is putting together a booklet on women at Harvard, and the College will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the integration of Yard dorms this fall.

Knowles also says he is pleased by the rise in the number of tenured women Faculty over the last five years.

"The President and I are unambiguous about our goals in terms of gender balance and minorities on the Faculty. While we shall always seem too slow to many, I am encouraged by the results of the past few years," he says.

But many women, including March, complain Harvard still lags far behind other Ivy League institutions in hiring and tenuring women.

"Until there is...parity between men and women on the Faculty, it can be called into question [whether] women undergraduates get an equal education," March says.

Is Radcliffe Dead?

In April, two graduates donated $1.25 million to Harvard--not Radcliffe--to establish an endowment for a women's initiative project at Harvard.

Maisie K. Houghton '62, one of the donors, says she and her husband gave to Harvard because she considers it responsible for her education.

"[Women] applied to Radcliffe, but any young woman of my day knew that we wanted the Harvard education, and that's what we wanted to honor in our gift," says Houghton, who is an advocate for women's issues in Corning, N.Y. "We're interested in the undergraduate experience, which is, let's face it, administered by Harvard."

Founded in 1879 as the "Harvard Annex," Radcliffe now is legally, fiscally and programmatically distinct from Harvard.

It is composed of Radcliffe Educational Programs, which focus on undergraduate and post-baccalaureate education, and Radcliffe Institutes for Advanced Study, which comprise the College's four academic research and policy centers.

According to Ruth "Bucky" Hellman '43, a co-signer of the alumnae letter who has held a variety of posts, including vice chair of the Radcliffe Board of Trustees, Radcliffe's role is constantly changing.

"Radcliffe has certainly demonstrated that it is a force for women," she says. "What form that will take as the time goes I can't predict. The Harvard-Radcliffe relationship has been evolving for 100 years, and I assume it will continue to evolve in response to the needs of both institutions."