For starters, gifts from Asia are not being recognized publicly by the University.
Typically, when large contributions are made the Development Office responds by seeking the donor's consent and then publicizing the donation, Sorenson says. But, she adds, "this is not something we've focused on to date" with gifts from Asia.
News of contributions from American alumni regularly appears in the University fundraising newsletter, resources, and the administration's newspaper, the Gazette. Except for a feature in the summer 1996 issue of resources about Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation, however, Asian supporters have received little public attention.
The ethical implications of fundraising receive more attention as well, says Vogel, who from 1993 to 1995 served as a National Intelligence Officer for East Asia at the National Intelligence Council in Washington.
There are potential dangers involved in receiving gifts from foreign institutional sources, he says.
"There would be [a hazard] if we accepted funds for a very narrow or political purpose," Vogel says.
It's a controversial line to walk.
Last fall, the Turkish government endowed million dollar chairs at universities across the nation for the purpose of "revealing the truth about Turkey," says Turkish Ambassador Nusret Kandemir.
Critics accused the government of trying to influence scholars to support its view that Turkey is not responsible for the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians during the late nineteenth century in the wake of the Ottoman empire's disintegration.
Harvard accepted the endowment, but the University of California at Los Angeles did not.
Harvard has not always said "yes," however. Vogel recalls that a grant from Asia for a lecture series was returned when the source of the funds objected to a particular speaker on political grounds. While he refuses to divulge the gift's country of origin, Vogel stresses that Harvard chose to return the money rather than capitulate to its donor.
Harvard administrators say they take special care during campaigning not to sell-out the University's integrity for money. As Harvard makes the rounds in Asia, the ethics of academic neutrality will remain a series of delicate balances between obtaining funding for needed research and allowing wealthy donors to dictate Harvard's curricula.
In the meantime, Sorenson says the East Asian Operations division of the Development Office--the only separate geographic division listed in the University Directory of Professional Staff--will continue its work.
"We've been successful so far on a case-by-case basis," she says.
And so while Rudenstine's summer vacation will soon pass, Harvard's attention to the area will not. Sorenson says she anticipates a gradual, long-term build-up of Harvard's ties to the region.
"This is not a one-shot deal through Asia," she says.