But for Kennedy and others, while the alumniconnection gives Harvard's lobbyists a foot in thedoor, it is no guarantee of legislativesuccess--especially outside Massachusetts.
Even Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), a HarvardMedical School graduate and one of theUniversity's strongest Republican allies in thepast, can't be seen to favor Harvard over those ofhis constituent colleges.
"We hear from Harvard as we would hear from anyother school," says Margaret Camp, a Fristspokesperson. "And Senator Frist seeks Harvard'sopinion no more than any other school."
All of this adds up to uncertain political pullfor Harvard acting alone, even among its mosttheoretically loyal groups.
The cause for this uncertainty? In the words ofone Ohio representative's assistant, "you dancewith those that brung you," meaning that everyrepresentative other than Joe Kennedy must ignoreeven Harvard if a constituent institution says so.
"The old days, if they ever existed, of Harvardcoming down, whispering in someone's ear andgetting results are decades gone by," Rowe says."That's...why you join the associations."
Finding Solutions
These "associations" are higher-educationlobbying groups like the American Association ofUniversities (AAU), representing 60 Americanresearch universities, and the American Council onEducation (ACE), a supergroup with members in thethousands.
"What's good for Harvard is often what's goodfor Ohio State, Williams and Smith," says TerryHartle, spokesperson for ACE. And from thisrealization springs a better way for highereducation to lobby.
Schools like Harvard join a number of groupslike the AAU and ACE, looking for large groupswith similar views on a particular issue. Or theycan form their own groups--Harvard and MIT formedthe Science Coalition in 1994 to press for moreresearch funding, and the group now has 60members.
In the fight against the Riggs Amendment,Harvard's views were shared by the ACE.
Group members then put pressure on their ownrepresentatives, making a combined difference thateven Harvard alone could not on a national scale.
"If our goal is legislative action, then welook to a coalition," says Jane H. Corlette, aCambridge-based Harvard lobbyist.
The problems with this strategy lie in keepingthe coalition together. On some issues wherelegislation could divide schools between publicand private or large and small, some institutionshave to swallow their objections or ambitions forthe good of the whole.
Rep. Frank Riggs (R-Cal.) tested this cohesionwhen, after being roundly outlobbied, he exemptedprivate universities from his attempt to eliminateaffirmative action. But Rudenstine and otherleaders were able to keep private schools in thefight--Rudenstine serving as a spokesperson forthe ACE as a whole.
"Members of Congress recognize that thepresident of Harvard speaks from a personal pointof view, but that [ACE speaks] for thousands ofinstitutions," says Beau Philipps, an aide toRiggs.
According to Nan Wells, Princeton's chiefWashington lobbyist, on issues of studentassistance, research funding and tax policy, thehigher education community looks to Harvard forleadership.
This leadership, they say, has been establishedby Rudenstine's rhetoric on these issues, as wellas a focused effort by Harvard's mission toWashington.
And lobbyists say this kind ofleadership--within associations, out of sight ofrepresentatives unwilling to take dictation fromHarvard--seems the best chance for the Universityto get its way on Capitol Hill.
"You say 'Who is on the committee? What are theright states? Then you use other universities asconstituent institutions," says Cambridge-basedlobbyist Kevin Casey. "You try to find ways tomake you matter and your views matter."