Bok denied that the study was made with any pre-conceived notions of affirmative action's efficacy.

"We didn't know what the outcome would be," he said. "Almost everything was a surprise."

"It's a piece of scholarly research, as opposed to a debate of one side over the other," said Glenda K. Burkhart of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The Foundation, of which Bowen is president, was responsible for building the study's database.

Bok and Bowen spent the past few weeks discussing their book in Washington, D.C. and New York City. Last Wednesday they spoke to various members of the Massachusetts' academic and political communities about their findings, Burkhart said.

Yesterday evening's event was sponsored by the Harvard Book Store and the Hasty Pudding Institute