At the center of the swirling debate over the status of Radcliffe College stands the institution's leader, Linda S. Wilson.

During her nine years as president--a tenure longer than that of Harvard's Neil L. Rudenstine--she has put strong emphasis on Radcliffe's research and public policy institutes.

Many who work with her describe her as a capable leader. But others are critical of what they see as a failure to relate to undergraduates and alumnae and to balance Radcliffe's precarious, ill-defined position alongside the University.

As only the second president of the women's institution since the 1977 agreement which essentially ceded all responsibility for the lives of women undergraduates to Harvard College, Wilson has embarked on numerous initiatives to carve out a new role for Radcliffe.

"She's very thorough--she does her homework," says Martha A. Fuller, director of development for Radcliffe. "Linda's conversations about planning are not lip service....She's doing what leaders have to do."

In 1992, she inaugurated Radcliffe's first capital campaign, with a goal of $100 million. With two years left, the campaign is behind schedule at $67 million. But Radcliffe administrators say the campaign's progress is exceeding their expectations.

Wilson stresses her creation of a Radcliffe "infrastructure," building a stronger administration to manage the workings of the college.

And Wilson created the Radcliffe Public Policy Institute, "the third leg of the stool"--education, research and public policy, according to Bonnie R. Clendenning, Radcliffe's vice president for college relations.

Radcliffe's three-pronged mission has proven a difficult balancing act for Wilson, who must also juggle the demands of undergraduate needs, alumnae fears and Harvard's pressures, along with a vision for the future.

Wilson attended Sophie Newcombe College, a women's college connected to Tulane University in New Orleans. Before coming to Cambridge, she served as an administrator at the University of Illinois and later at the University of Michigan.

A former research chemist, Wilson defied the expectations of many observers when she took the helm of the women's institution despite her lack of a traditional background in women's studies.

Wilson "brings that scientific rigor to her endeavors," Clendenning says. "I suspect she is a superlative chess player, because she is very analytical and thoughtful--she focuses on the problem at hand."

Susan C. Eaton '79, secretary of the Radcliffe College Alumnae Association (RCAA), says Wilson's tenure has been marked by "a quiet style of leadership," but she says this is a result of Wilson's desire to appease competing sides.

Stressing cooperation between the sexes rather than con- flict, Wilson's style was tagged by The BostonGlobe as "postfeminist."

"Her theme has always been creativepartnerships between women and men," Clendenningsays. "Some people think different sizes mean youcan't have an equal partnership. I don't thinkthat's true."

Other administrators at Radcliffe say equalpartnership with Harvard has yet to arrive.

"There are some people who believe Radcliffehas an equal voice in undergraduate affairs withHarvard," Fuller says. "[But] we on the campaignside have described Radcliffe as a value-addedcomponent of a larger University experience."

That concept--of Radcliffe as a "value-added"resource for undergraduate women--is one Wilsonhas stressed repeatedly. As president, she hascreated programs like the research partnersprogram, which matches the luminaries atRadcliffe's various institutes with femaleundergraduates.

But even Wilson's idea that Radcliffe augmentsthe experience of women at Harvard Collegefrequently falls under attack.

"Linda Wilson is a fabulous fundraiser, but notso good with undergraduate relations," Corinne Y.Funk '97 told The Crimson in March. Funk served asco-president of the Radcliffe Union of Students in1996.

Peggy M. McIntosh '56, a long-time Radcliffesupporter who resigned as second vice president ofRCAA in April, speaks even more strongly.

"Frankly, Radcliffe has not been an advocatefor the interests of undergraduate women atHarvard University," McIntosh says.

"As for making an active effort to find outwhat undergraduate life is like for women and givethem active and feminist support--that issomething Linda Wilson has not tried to do," shesays. "Her attitude has been that her role is notto fix Harvard."

McIntosh says she resigned out of frustrationwith Radcliffe's reluctance to discuss recentdevelopments with alumnae.

"The president and trustees have been whollysecretive in their discussions [about the futureof Radcliffe]," she says. "I think this isoutrageous."

McIntosh pins much of the blame on Wilsonherself.

"She could have resisted the trustees'insistence on secrecy," she said. "She could havethreatened to resign if she had to keep secret...Idon't think it's leadership to be president of aneducational organization, negotiating its futurewhile bypassing its constituency."

Eaton concedes that there have been requestsfor Wilson to be more open, but says Wilson isnavigating dangerous straits in reexaminingRadcliffe's relation to Harvard.

"She has worked hard to maintain a positiverelationship with Harvard," Eaton says. "People onthe Harvard side think Radcliffe is a pain in theneck, but she has worked hard to maintain acollaborative relationship."

Fuller says she believes Wilson has been asupfront as possible about the negotiations.

"Linda's doing what she has to do," Fullersays. "There are a lot of people who'd like toknow what's happening...[But] other aspects of thestrategic planning process are still beingdiscussed within trustee committees and are notready to be discussed beyond that point."

Radcliffe's vocal constituencies have pulledWilson in opposite directions, and McIntosh saysshe has failed to keep different factionstogether.

"Alumnae," McIntosh says, "have been immenselydisrespected."

Administrators working in the veryinfrastructure Wilson created give her high marksfor overseeing Radcliffe's diverse needs.

"The staff like her," says Annette T. Bonasoro,Radcliffe's director of human resources. "Theyrecognize that being a leader is not an easy thingfor anyone today."

While Wilson garners both criticism and praisefor her work at Radcliffe's helm, the varyingopinions point to the difficult balancing act thatRadcliffe College itself plays within the world ofHarvard University and the challenges of definingan appropriate role for the college with nostudents in the decades to come.

"Is it a complicated relationship?" Clendenningasks. "Yes. There is no combination like Radcliffeand Harvard in the U.S. or even the world.