All that is certain is that the appointment was confirmed on March 22, at a special meeting at the board of Overseers in New York.
His inauguration, like the search, was full of pomp and circumstance. Unlike the search, it was open. In a two-day gala--a far cry from Bok's 20-minute ceremony--Harvard featured famous faculty, alums and guests, including Yo-Yo Ma '76, Toni Morrison and Saul Bellow.
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At the passing of the torch, long-time friends Bok and Rudenstine embraced.
Bok retreated to the status of emeritus, and watched his friend begin a decade as the most-watched university president in the nation.