Richard A. Smith '44-'46, who has served on the Harvard Corporation since 1991, will resign from his position in June, University President Neil L. Rudenstine said yesterday.

Smith, 75, is the second member of the seven-person Corporation to step down in two months. Lawyer Judith Richards Hope plans to vacate her position near the end of March.

Smith's announcement is not unexpected: He told Rudenstine he was contemplating a resignation as early as 1997, although the president persuaded him to remain in office until the end of the University's Capital Campaign.

"Most people, because they've served a good number of years or because they're beyond 70, find that given the Corporation's intensity there comes a moment when they ought to step aside," Rudenstine said. "He told me more than three years ago that I should begin to be ready."

The Corporation is Harvard's top governing body, responsible for all major University decisions.

Yesterday, Rudenstine and other officials downplayed the significance of the two vacancies occurring almost simultaneously, saying both positions should be filled by the start of the upcoming academic year.

"The Corporation is stable...and I expect it to be equally stable in the next few weeks or months," Rudenstine said.

A joint Corporation-Board of Overseers committee has been searching for replacements for both Smith and Hope for a year, Rudenstine said.