The grading and honors proposals adopted yesterday were drafted by the Educational Policy Committee and shaped by the Faculty Council.

Pedersen said yesterday that her office will continue to push the Faculty to clarify the meaning of its grades.

She said her office would circulate among the entire Faculty a compilation of the materials collected during its year-long review of Harvard’s grading practices to further conversations about these issues.

Also at yesterday’s meeting, Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis ’68 announced the creation of a University-wide committee to review and “make recommendations to the Dean of Harvard College and to the Provost on all institutional support services for victims of sexual violence and all preventive, educational, and outreach programs to reduce the incidence of sexual violence in Harvard College.”

Lewis said yesterday the formation of the committee was a response to concerns voiced by students and professors earlier this month, after the Faculty approved a new Administrative Board policy for handling peer disputes, including allegations of sexual assault.

Under the new policy, the Ad Board will no longer investigate allegations for which there is no corroborating evidence.

Following the meeting, some Faculty expressed their concern that the change had been hastily approved—professors had not been notified of the proposed change prior to the meeting, and the actual wording of the new policy was not distributed among Faculty at the meeting, before they voted to adopt it.

Lewis apologized yesterday for the way the policy change was carried out, though he noted that it was the same procedure used in previous years to adopt changes in Ad Board procedure.

The new committee will be chaired by Dr. Jennifer Leaning ’68, professor of international health at the Harvard School of Public Health. (Please see related story, “Assault Services Reviewed,” page 1.)

The Faculty also approved the Courses of Instruction for the 2002-2003 academic year—including a roster of 92 freshmen seminars. The program this year offered 61 seminars, a surge over the 36 offered the previous year.

Yesterday’s meeting marked more than the end of the academic year.

It was also the last time that Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles sat at the round table where the deans and President reside during each Faculty meeting.

Knowles passed the baton yesterday to Geisinger Professor of History William C. Kirby, whom Summers selected at the end of last week to be the next dean of the Faculty.

Summers presented the dean-elect to the Faculty at the start of yesterday’s meeting.

Summers praised Kirby’s accomplishments as professor and administrator.