As the University prepares for the largest fund drive in higher education history, questions of University-wide administration have become the focus of debate....

We urge President Rudenstine to safeguard the interests of under funded schools whenever possible, and to challenge the prerogatives of the monoliths whenever necessary....

When money becomes very important, donors become very important. And when donors become very important, they gain a lot of influence. Too much influence, sometimes.

Rudenstine will need to keep a vigilant eye trained on potential fundraising excesses....When climbing into bed with moneyed interests, the University should be extremely careful to keep its academic principles independent from its funding sources--a goal that will become more difficult (and more important) to uphold as fundraising is accelerated. Harvard should not sell out to the highest bidder.

If Harvard did sell out, we might not even find out about it. Many of the University's financial transactions are hidden from oversight in a complex of holding companies--rather uncharacteristic of an academic institution.

Money is good. Money can ensure the University's security in a financially unpromising future. But the Wall Street types who play with Harvard's money need to be watched. The Advisory Committee on Shareholder Responsibility (ACSR) knows very little about Harvard's investment practices.

One of Rudenstine's first tasks should be to overhaul the University's outmoded financial system...

The shocking this is, Neil Rudenstine already seems to know all this.

While at Princeton, Rudenstine earned a reputation for being receptive to unconventional scholarship....Since his appointment, he has repeatedly emphasized the importance of attracting minorities into academia. He has announced his commitment to bolstering undergraduate education at Harvard....He has discussed the importance of University unity, the need for an overall educational mission, his aversion to absolute administrative decentralization. He plans to appoint a provost...for coordinating Harvard's atomized parts.

Sounds good to us. It has sounded good to a lot of students for a long time. But no one was listening. Rudenstine has been universally praised by the Princeton community as a great listener. Princeton affiliates say they have never met a more accessible administrator. Rudenstine himself has promised to talk to anyone with questions and says he would consider holding office hours if there is a student market. He is even contemplating a move on campus.

Sounds good to us.