The outpost, as currently set up, will be of the most use to the Business School for case study research, Clark and Rudenstine say.

"At present this is a Business School research center. If there are [other] schools that are interested...in this venture, then that's something that we will talk to other schools about," Clark says.

But currently finding an executive director for the outpost is at the top of the agenda. "That's the most critical decision," Clark says. "We've got a search going on."

The director will have to know the region well and be familiar with the languages of the region--Spanish and Portuguese--according to Clark. Clark and his faculty advisors will make the final decision. They hope to find someone by the end of the fall, he adds.

The plan is to have an address and a director by spring for a preliminary opening of the outpost. The final opening will probably be the end of next summer, Clark says.

Following the Dream

Toward the end of his term as Harvard President, Derek C. Bok spoke generally of greater international outreach from the world's oldest and richest university. His successor has devoted much time, energy and money to making the dream a reality.

When Rudenstine first outlined his international agenda around the start of the capital campaign five years ago, creating this kind of outposts around the world featured prominently.