Higher education will lose a strong advocate for diversity and a capable administrator when Harvard President Neil L. Rudenstine steps down from his post next spring, said politicians and educators reacting to Monday's announcement.

"[President Clinton] appreciates Neil Rudenstine's leadership at Harvard, particularly his commitment to federal research and science and technology and also his efforts to expand the African-American Studies department there," said a White House spokesperson yesterday.

Rudenstine's colleagues praised him for accomplishments ranging from a revitalized Afro-American studies department to increased funding for student aid.

"I'm a great admirer of President Rudenstine's work on the subject of diversity. He's a national leader with his writings on the subject," said Yale President Richard C. Levin, who paused in Commencement duties Monday to speak about his counterpart.

Rudenstine is credited with recruiting a "dream team" of famous Afro-American scholars to Cambridge, including DuBois Professor of the Humanities Henry Louis "Skip" Gates Jr. and Fletcher University Professor Cornel R. West '74.

In 1997, he helped draft a pro-affirmative action statement for the Association of American Universities that ran as a full-page advertisement in The New York Times.

According to Stan Ikenberry, the president of the American Council on Education, Rudenstine's recent commitment to adopt the recommendations of a faculty committee on labor issues has also shown national leadership.

"The fact that it did happen at Harvard [shows that he] exercises thoughtful, moral-based leadership," Ikenberry said Monday.