When history books look back at Radcliffe College President Linda S. Wilson, their final chapters will tell a story of self-sacrifice.

On Monday, Wilson announced she would step down from her post to make way for the first dean of the new Radcliffe Institute. And Wilson said yesterday that it is too soon for her to start planning her own future.

"Thinking of myself is really not on the agenda at all at this point," she said.

Sitting wearily but calmly in Fay House's elegant first-floor conference room, Wilson broke her long silence yesterday afternoon regarding the negotiations that have consumed her year.

Wilson declined to discuss her own career goals, but she did not rule out the possibility that she might assume an administrative post elsewhere upon completion of her one-year paid sabbatical, which starts July 1, exactly 10 years after she first took office.

"There's a lot left in me for the next round," she said. "I've had quite a few opportunities since I've been here, and I've turned them all down because I wanted to invest in Radcliffe."

Now, Wilson said she could best invest in the institution to which she has devoted a decade by stepping aside.

"A new institute like this needs a new dean--someone's who's prepared to be here for 10 more years," she said. "Every time I've changed jobs, it's like something of a shot of adrenaline. The same thing happens [to institutions]."

For the time being, Director of the Schlesinger Library and former Smith College President Mary Maples Dunn will be relied upon to administer that shot. She will take over as interim dean of Radcliffe on July 1.