He says the ACSR, whose members serve twoyears, is less concerned with how its decisionswill fit into the bigger question of Harvard'sinvestment practices, while the CCSR attempts tobuild a more consistent, long-term policy to guidethe University.

The result: In the 1997 proxy season, the CCSRdecided not to follow its advisory committee'srecommendation to support a given proxy in six of21 instances--nearly one in three cases.

The Corporation's differing priorities seem toassure that it will not extend the ACSR's advisorypower beyond the proxy questions brought to theUniversity.

In fact, Slichter says the real reason Harvardcreated the committees was simply because theUniversity was obligated to come up with decisionsfor proxy votes, a responsibility which took toomuch of HMC's time.

"The practical matter is that there are acertain set of issues, [and] Harvard is requiredto vote our shares," Slichter says. "This is animportant responsibility and the Corporationdecided Harvard needed a committee that wouldexamine the issue."

But Slichter, who chaired the CCSR for morethan a decade, says Harvard should not move beyondproxy decisions to include moral questions inselecting stocks.

"It's a slippery slope when you try to decidewhether a business is appropriate," he says. "Withany stock, you can find somebody who objects to itand somebody who doesn't."

Says Daniel, "We are not an advocacy group."

Who Listens to Proxies?

From his vantage point on the ACSR, Badaraccosays, "It may matter a bit more that Harvard takesa position because other universities andfoundations look to Harvard for leadership."

But since the committees on shareholderresponsibility generally stay out of largerquestions of investment, the full weight ofHarvard's moral significance falls on the proxyprocess, a weight which may be more than the proxyprocess can sustain.

Though Daniel says Harvard relies on proxies topress management, he also says the University isonly one among many shareholders.

"Unless there is widespread unanimity, Harvardhas a small voice," Daniel says.

Elizabeth A. Gray, secretary to the CCSR, sayslarge questions can make the University heard whenconsensus builds.

"People assure us that when a proxy begins togather enough votes to stay in the game," Graysays, "they affect management."