After being denied tenure, Associate Professor of Government Louise M. Richardson has decided to leave Harvard at the end of spring semester.

Richardson said she learned last March that she did not receive the recommendation of Harvard's Department of Government in her bid for a permanent Faculty position. She said she thinks her candidacy, having failed to win the backing of her department, never reached President Neil L. Rudenstine's desk.

Richardson has served as the department's head tutor for the last two years and is one of few female specialists in the field of international security.

"The decision reached by the department does not diminish in any way the enormous respect and gratitude we have for the job Louise Richardson has done for the undergraduate program," said Williams Professor of History and Political Science Roderick MacFarquhar, who is also the government department's chair.

In 1998, Richardson earned the Abramson Award for her commitment to the interests of undergraduates.

Students and colleagues expressed sadness at the news of Richardson's imminent departure.

Her course Government 1748: "Terrorist Movements in International Security," which she has taught for the last three years, has consistently earned high marks from students.

"People were talking about how sad it was that this was the last time the course would be offered," said Nicole C. Ruiz '02, who took the course this fall.