While the majority of the candidates will come directly from academia, Harvard affiliates in Washington have an interest in the Mass. Hall office as well. A Washington source with University ties says that Secretary of the Treasury Lawrence H. Summers--who was a Harvard economics professor from 1983 to 1993--will doubtless show up on the Corporation's roster of desirables.

"He is the obvious name to think about in the world of Washington," the source says. "He has shown himself to be a surprisingly strong administrator as Secretary of the Treasury."

Summers is not the only Washington bigwig to be named. But this presidential search is also unusual in that it coincides with another: the nation's. Many of those who might be considered do not know if they will be out of work or newly appointed come January.

One such possibility: Condoleezza Rice, formerly Stanford's provost and currently Texas Gov. George W. Bush's foreign policy adviser. One of a small pool of minority administrators in academia, she has taken a year off from Stanford to assist the presumptive Republican nominee for the presidency. But she lacks one crucial factor: a Harvard connection.

"When we've got so many distinguished Harvard alumni and faculty, we don't need to go outside the family," Armstrong says. "These days, it would be an advantage with the issues being so complex to have someone who could hit the ground running."

Armstrong adds that some of the University's momentum can be lost to a president with a learning curve.

In addition, Rice is now closely associated with a conservative campaign--and Harvard is a notoriously liberal institution.