Daniel says the corporation would still want anintellectual for the job--"he or she would alwayshave to be a first-rate scholar."

But the most important considerations inpicking Rudenstine's successor will probably havemore to do with surface qualities than with a newvision for Harvard or the University's place inhigher education.

For instance, Dershowitz says he would like tosee a woman or an African-American as the nextpresident and Landers notes that Conant was thelast Harvard president with a scientificbackground.

"One needs to think about those things,"Landers says. Perhaps she has Fineberg--a healthissues expert--in mind. Many officials say theyhave been impressed with the job he has done asprovost.

But with Rudenstine still in office, and likelyto remain so for another year or so, theUniversity's attention still belongs with him.

The question remains, however, whether hisattention will focus on the University beyond itsfinancial health, and whether he has ability toshape its future in any substantive way.

It may well be that the legacy left byHarvard's first non-entity president of the 20thcentury will be a pattern of leaders just likehim.