It may not have been Bloody Sunday, but Radcliffe College has seen better Easters. In mid-April, The Boston Globe printed a front-page article headlined "Radcliffe's days as a college coming to end."
Startling loyal alumnae and putting administrators on the defensive, the news that Radcliffe's institutional status was in limbo has not yet been resolved.
While sources have told The Crimson that Radcliffe may become a research institute for the study of women, gender and society allied with the University, Radcliffe administrators only acknowledge that the college's Board of Trustees are engaged in a "strategic planning process."
On one level, the recent news of Radcliffe College's possible demise seems to confirm a year of apparent friction between the "partner institutions," from a battle for Byerly Hall to a debate over diplomas (p\lease see related story, page C-7).
But these skirmishes are not part of an all-out war.
In a year where the two colleges have been squabbling over undergraduate affairs, Presidents Linda S. Wilson and Neil L. Rudenstine have been scheming together to create a new jewel in Harvard's crown--a reinvigorated incarnation of the 119-year-old Radcliffe.
But secrecy has shrouded this movement toward compromise, and the confusion has only fueled old tensions about institutional ambiguities and made alumnae uneasy.
Although 1997-98 may go down in history as the beginning of a permanent peace between Harvard and Radcliffe, the past nine months have proved to be the year of public discord.
Border Wars
The two colleges in the Square have had disagreements over undergraduate territory since their agreement of 1977, in which Radcliffe delegated day-to-day responsibilities for its students to Harvard.
But tensions began to escalate last spring-- A year ago last month, Dean of the FacultyJeremy R. Knowles sent a letter to male and femalealumni, raising concerns about the gender gap inthe University's capital campaign and providinginformation about the College's outreach to women. The 1977 agreement stipulates that Harvard maynot solicit funds from alumnae who graduatedbefore 1976, and some saw Knowles' letter asspecifically targeting loyal pre-1976 'Cliffies,violating the 20-year-old policy. A group of Radcliffe alumnae--including Ruth B.Helman '43, former president of the RadcliffeCollege Alumnae Association (RCAA), and Amey A.DeFriez '49, former chair of the Radcliffe Boardof Trustees--wrote a letter of protest to Knowles,urging him to "reconsider this divisive strategy." Goin' Courtin' In October, Harvard College continued to wooits women, both students and alumnae, sponsoring a25-year anniversary celebration of co-residency inthe Yard, later creating an annual Women'sLeadership Award to honor female students who makesignificant contributions to campus life. The October festivities included a gatededication at which Lamelle D. Rawlins '99, thefirst female student body president, and Renee M.Landers '77, former president of the Harvard Boardof Overseers, unveiled plaques commemorating theoccasion. Although pleased that Harvard was celebratingthe increased opportunities at the College,Radcliffe officials expressed regrets that therehad been no scheduled place in the ceremony forthe institution that worked to open Harvard'sgates to women. "In speaking with President Wilson, I realizedthat without Radcliffe, there could be nocelebration," said Tamar March, director ofundergraduate programs at Radcliffe. Lacing Up the Gloves? In a move that looked like the next jab in anongoing spat, Radcliffe informed FAS it wouldbegin charging rent for use of Byerly Hall, whichcurrently houses the Harvard-Radcliffe Office ofAdmissions and Financial Aid and the offices forthe Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS). In April, FAS and Radcliffe negotiated atwo-year agreement, allowing the currentdepartments to remain in Byerly for a fee "at orbelow market value," according to David A.Zewinski '76, associate dean of physical resourcesfor FAS. FAS has been examining more permanent optionsfor the Admissions Office and GSAS ever sinceRadcliffe announced it would not consent to along-term lease. Harvard-Radcliffe tensions were not limited tothe administrative level. Several members of thestudent body registered their disapproval with theambiguous relationship between the two schools inthis spring's diploma debate. (please seerelated story below) All diplomas since the 1977 agreement have beensigned by the Harvard's president, but thepresident of Radcliffe displaces the dean ofHarvard College on women's diplomas. "During our four years here, women do not andcannot experience Radcliffe in an academic sense,as Radcliffe gave away that responsibility andright in 1977," Rachel E. Barber '99, sponsor of abill that went before the Undergraduate Council toequalize men's and women's diplomas, wrote in anopinion piece in The Crimson. Planning for the Millennium Administrators say these border conflicts werejust minor "irritations," but their sum lookedlike a war when news spread through the Universitycommunity that Radcliffe was renegotiating thebasis of its relationship with Harvard--andpossibly severing its undergraduate ties. When the first story broke, the spindoctoringbegan. Radcliffe issued a statement acknowledging onlythat the college had been involved in a "strategicplanning process," an internal review of theachievements of the '90s and goals for theupcoming decade. Wilson and Nancy-Beth G. Sheerr'71, chairman of the Board of Trustees, refused toprovide any future information regarding thesediscussions--or their alleged talks with Harvardofficials. Saying they felt betrayed and ignored byRadcliffe's lack of communication with itsconstituents, alumnae and students raised theirobjections. The RCAA Board of Management demanded to betold "the substance of [the] deliberations" in aletter to Wilson and the Board of Trustees datedApril 19. The following day, Peggy M. McIntosh '56resigned her position as the RCAA second vicepresident to protest the secrecy of the top-leveldiscussions. "I think we all deserve the chance to be activein Radcliffe's future," she wrote in a letter tothe Radcliffe president and trustees. About 80 students rushed to support Radcliffe'srole in undergraduate life with a march fromRadcliffe to Harvard Yard on April 21, followed bya rally in front of University Hall. "We were disturbed that the voices of peoplewho believe in Radcliffe...were not being heard,"said Emma C. Cheuse '98, one of the event'sorganizers, at the rally. But Radcliffe administrators elected to remainsilent even in the face of student and alumnaeprotest, steadfastly refusing to give substantiveinformation about the talks. In the presidents' joint address to prospectivemembers of the class of 2002 during pre-froshweekend in late April, both dodged questions fromthe audience about Radcliffe's future althoughRudenstine had previously expressed to The Crimsonhis hope that talks would be concluded by "the endof the academic year or the summer." During the welcome event, however, Wilsoninvoked Mark Twain's response upon reading hisobituary in a newspaper. "My death has been greatly exaggerated," shequipped. Meanwhile, several sources close to thediscussions have said negotiations between the twoinstitutions have been moving forward. Radcliffe has hired two consultants--TonyKnerr, former vice president of finance andtreasurer of Columbia University, and publicrelations adviser Jim McAvoy of Burson-MarstellerInc.--to aid in the financial and external affairsof the negotiations. In an effort to "reflect [their] history ofcollaboration," Harvard and Radcliffe coordinatedthe announcements of new programs in theirseparate capital campaigns, introducing $15million and $3 million matching fundsrespectively. As with Knowles' April 1997 letter, theUniversity made women a special target group ofits campaign drive, stipulating that allsubstantial donations by women will be doubled bya fund created to encourage female philanthropy. Radcliffe's matching fund is gender-blind,although all funds will go to the institutionwhich has stated a dedication to "advancingsociety by advancing women." While the separate fundraising drives appear tobe competing for cash, the two institutions madeit clear that they solicited donations fromdifferent constituencies, and allocated them fordifferent purposes. "We don't think the world of potential donorsis limited, that if Harvard reaches out to womenthen Radcliffe will lose out," said Laura W.Smith, assistant director of communications at theUniversity Development Office. The simultaneous drives were meant to show howthe "partner institutions" could existside-by-side. In the final move of the academic year, Wilsonsent letters to graduating women and alumnae,inviting them to comment on the future ofRadcliffe's "intellectual terrain." While Wilson has framed the "call for comments"as a way to solicit suggestions for an academicagenda for Radcliffe, the college's Board ofTrustees will make the final decision regardingits institutional makeup alone, and an agreementwith Harvard rests in their hands. "All institutions must develop a strongconstituent base, and respect that constituentbase," Wilson said in a May interview. But, sheadded, "it is important to know that the ultimateresponsibility for the institutional structure isan assigned responsibility. There is a group ofpeople who hold the institution in trust--ourBoard of Trustees."
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