Though some say it has made possible the politically perilous quest of bringing power to the central administration, his understated modus operandi has undoubtedly been a detriment to the University in other ways.

Part of the reason Mass. Hall has always been weak compared to Harvard's independent divisions is that it had no money of its own. Included in the capital campaign was a $100,000 in discretionary funds for the president's office that would help alleviate the problem. But Rudenstine did not ask for money for his own office and until the last days of the campaign when other administrators took over, it lagged behind other areas dramatically.

And Harvard deans have still maintained much of their divisional autonomy. FAS Dean Jeremy R. Knowles resisted Rudenstine's calls for financial aid reform for a solid year, until the dean was finally satisfied that a change should occur.

Harvard presidents have traditionally been famous people.

Charles E. Eliot, Class of 1859, remade his alma mater as a national institution.

President James B. Conant '14, also a Crimson editor, advised U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt '04 so often that he had to invent the position of provost so someone could run Harvard in his absence. When he called the White House switchboard, he told operators, "This is the president calling for Mr. Roosevelt."

But over the Rudenstine decade, that prestige has all but evaporated.