UNIVERSITY

Next Monday will mark the one-year anniversary of the news that rocked Radcliffe College-a Boston Globe article predicting the college's impending demise.

One year later, the college remains, but as negotiations with Harvard drag on, uncertainty about Radcliffe's future is creating headaches for college officials.

Radcliffe's alumnae association is having an existential crisis, wondering what its role will be if Radcliffe ceases to be a college. And with those alumnae making up the bulk of the college's donors, its planned $ 100 million Capital Campaign could be in danger of falling short.

This weekend, the Radcliffe Board of Trustees will hold a regularly-scheduled meeting--another opportunity for the group to discuss options for Radcliffe's future.

While the board debates the future of the college in one meeting room of the Cronkhite Graduate Center, the Radcliffe College Alumnae Association (RCAA) will discuss its own future just down the hall.

Members of RCAA Board of Management say they initially felt "betrayed" by the Globe's report that the college's governing board had been talking to Harvard without their input. Now RCAA leaders say they're satisfied that the trustees are at least listening to their concerns.

But RCAA leaders say the trustees are still providing alumnae with few clues about what the future face of Radcliffe might be. This uncertainty is forcing the 27,000-member alumnae organization to come up with multiple scenarios for its own future role.

And meanwhile, Radcliffe College is relying on these same alumnae to fulfill its first Capital Campaign, an ambitious $100 million project set to finish in the year 2000.

Radcliffe officials say the campaign, which kicked off in 1993, is chugging away and should reach its final goal in 2000 as planned. But some alumnae say they've heard that the yearlong secret talks have persuaded some to delay donating until they know to what they're giving.

Long Haul

This weekend, Chairman of the Board of Trustees Nancy-Beth G. Sheer '71 will convene a full meeting of the trustees. Other such meetings in the past have included timefor at least some members of the board to meetwith members of the Harvard Corporation.

According to one high-level source, both sideshave been frustrated in recent weeks. The sourcesays Radcliffe negotiators were consideringtotally breaking off talks with Harvard asrecently as two weeks ago.

But, while the talks are now back on track,both sides recognize that the process will notreach a conclusion anytime soon, the source says.

Many alumnae leaders say they will not toleratea process that goes on interminably-at least notone in which they are told so little aboutpossible out-comes.

"I keep waiting for there to be some closure,"says Marcy W. Plunkett '71, RCAA Director for fourstates in the Midwest. "One doesn't get the sensethat there's been any progress."