Again, Rudenstine seems stuck in the paradigmhe operated under at Princeton.

As dean of the college at Princeton, Rudenstineserved under his mentor William Bowen, who wasthen president. According to Rudenstine, Bowentaught him the methods of "collaborativeadministration."

At Princeton, which has only one faculty andone administration, "You can get to know mostfaculty and a lot of students," Rudenstine says.The collaborative method met with great success atthe smaller school.

But, Keller says, "Bowen's style didn't workvery well at Harvard--Rudenstine landed onNormandy beach and he didn't know what hit him."

"He will not come in and say, `Here's the plan,here's what's going to be done,'" Huidekoper says.Unlike his predecessor Bok, the current presidentlistens more than he contributes.

"A meeting with this president is aconversation, not a monologue," Fineberg says.Bok, says one University source, used to call inthe deans and lecture to them, while Rudenstine ismore "collegial" in his approach.

"Neil's strength is on the collaborative end,not so much on the directed end," Landers says.

Certainly, much is to be gained by Rudenstine'shumility. Many attribute the success of thecampaign in large part to Rudenstine's personalstyle. He has spent hours with potential donors,personally taking them on tours of Widener Libraryor discussing gift possibilities over lunch. "Whohe is has made an enormous difference to thecampaign," Huidekoper says.

However, this meekness has kept him from thepublic appearances and strong presence in theHarvard administration and as a national figurethat his colleagues used to their advantage.

"He does not worry about attracting anyattention to himself. He's not anyone who's ashow-off person," Rowe says. "He's not somebodywho's going to be on the talk show...There aremany times when you want Harvard to be in thechorus."

King of the World

Rudenstine is certainly by no means alone inscaling back the power of his office. Universitypresidents are not what they used to be--either ininfluence and prestige or in academic status.Their roles have become more administrative innature. Rudenstine matches the new profile--a goodfacilitator, a personable individual but withoutthe desire to bring Harvard to the center of thenational limelight.

"Today they are hired and judged by how they dotheir administrative job," says Harvey A.Silverglate, a Boston lawyer who has writtenextensively about higher education.

As the institutions grow, they become moresubdivided, and the authority that was once vestedin the president is in the hands of a number ofdeans and vice presidents. "Presidents seem tomatter less as institutions get larger," Kellersays.

The University president's voice--much likeRudenstine's--becomes lost in the shuffle of deansand other administrators.