They say the University will never bow to that kind of pressure.

"It's never going to happen," Grogan says. "If you get asked to do something, that's one thing, but if you're ordered...That's just human nature."

Administrators say the council should not attempt to legislate internal Harvard policy--a matter over which it has no control.

"I'm not sure why city councillors would see it their business to set the University's wages," Zeckhauser says. "It's not their place to change wages--it seems to me an unusual thing to do."

Even Francis H. Duehay '55, a longtime former member of the City Council who served as mayor in 1998 and 1999, criticizes the councillors' statements, calling them "unwise" and "unproductive."

"Harvard is not going to be intimidated by threats," Duehay says. "It's kind of silly to threaten someone if you cannot follow through with the threat."

But Decker says the council is justified in attacking Harvard over an issue that members feel strongly about, even to the point of threats.

"It's not about whether we have direct jurisdiction--it's about whether the University wants to have open dialogue and a meaningful relationship with the city," she says. "When Harvard refuses to enter into a meaningful dialogue, our job is to do things to force the University to sit down."

The Man with the Plan

Grogan says he did not anticipate the debate over a living wage. He calls it a "setback" in his plans to improve relations between city and University.

He counters criticism over Harvard's decentralized administration by stating Harvard does have a single point person for community development--himself.

"They can come to me," he says.

Grogan has an extensive background in community organizing. Prior to coming to Harvard, he worked for a decade as the president and chief executive officer of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, a national non-profit organization dedicated to community development. Before that, he spent 13 years working in Boston city government.

His appointment last year served as a signal that Harvard was prepared to devote greater attention to community relations, rather than focusing solely on federal affairs.

Administrators at Harvard, including Rudenstine and Zeckhauser, universally praise Grogan as "wonderful," and laud his work with the community.

But Galluccio says Grogan does not have enough power to serve as Harvard's one representative to the city--he cannot decide to implement living wage or establish the amount of student housing Harvard needs in Cambridge.