Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles saysHarvard was accustomed to using Radcliffe as anexcuse for overlooking women's concerns.
"Several years ago we realized that we mustnever again say, 'Oh, Radcliffe can take care ofthat,"' Knowles says. "We must simply stop sayingit."
Harvard President Neil L. Rudenstine said afterthe merger announcement that it is too early tojudge Harvard's success on gender issues.
"It's very hard to fulfill a mission if youhaven't fully been given it," he said.
And Harvard administrators point out that someprogress has been made in recent years.
"Harvard College has progressed as far as anyinstitution in creating equal opportunities formen and women students," Dean of the College HarryR. Lewis '68 writes in an e-mail message. "Heretoo the task is not yet completed, but it is welladvanced, and we are proud of the results."
And even if Harvard has compiled a far fromperfect record--only one in eight tenured Facultymembers is female, for instance--now there are noexcuses.
The day of her inauguration as president in1990, Wilson told The Boston Globe that femalestudents most frequently voiced concerns about thelow number of female faculty members, physicalsafety on campus and the lack of a women's center.
Fast-forward 10 years.
At Thursday's meeting, she fielded questionsfrom a new generation of undergraduates aboutthose exact same issues, answering that "Radcliffewill no longer have responsibility for you as ourstudents--but we will care."
According to Harvard administrators, a Harvardthat now has full responsibility is better than aHarvard-Radcliffe continually passing the buckback and forth.
"Radcliffe has not played a significantwatchdog role in recent years," says Lewis, whohas said the job of Assistant Dean forCo-education Karen E. Avery '87 will gainprominence post-merger. "There are plenty ofpeople watching Harvard, and they will continue towatch."