Rogers says that a new exhibit sponsored by the Schlesinger Library entitled “‘Enterprising Women’: A History of Businesswomen in America, 1750-2000” foreshadows the future of fundraising at the Institute, though the names of the exhibit’s corporate supporters have not yet been released to the public.

Radcliffe Assistant Dean for Planning Polly Steele points out that the other major institutes of advanced study—like those at Stanford and Princeton—thrive financially without an alumni base, relying on corporate and foundation grants to fund their research.

While Radcliffe struggles to pitch itself to its alumnae, it also has to win the support of President-elect Lawrence H. Summers.

His vision for Radcliffe and how it can fit in to Harvard will most certainly shape the institute’s power within the University.

In an absolute sense, Faust has as much influence at the University Deans’ table as Knowles or the deans of the Medical School and the Law School.

But in a relative sense (in terms of funding and size), Radcliffe is much smaller than the Univeristy’s nine other faculties.

“I think Rudenstine and Fineberg were both very visionary in understanding what Radcliffe could be and could contribute, and I think the important role for the new president is to really try to understand and pursue that vision,” Pendred E. Noyce `77 says. “The role of the president should be to help be a visionary.”

Dunn notes that engaging the attention of Harvard’s 27th President early on is essential.

“That’s going to be really critical for him to be interested in it [Radcliffe] and support it,” she says.

And it seems that the Radcliffe Institute has already caught Summers’ attention. In one of Summers’ recent visits to Cambridge, he had lunch with Faust and discussed the future of the institute. Faust is upbeat in describing their meeting.

“It was clear that he’s very committed to supporting us. I think he’ll be a very good president for Radcliffe,” she says.

But Radcliffe will have to be able to give its alumnae and the Harvard community a clearer picture of its mission in order to capitalize on alumni support and stake out a truly influential position at the University.

“Now Radcliffe is a part of Harvard and it really has to shine in the Harvard sense,” Dunn says. “That’s a concern for the immediate future.”