Criticizing the “present low estate of religion at Harvard,” Pusey called for a renewed focus on theological studies.

“It is leadership in religious knowledge, and even more, in religious experience—not increased industrial might, not more research facilities, certainly not these things by themselves—of which we now have a most gaping need,” Pusey said.

The speech drew praise from the official Catholic newspaper in Boston, which had not looked favorably on the secular Conant and was glad to see the new Harvard leader calling for a “revival of spiritual interests.”

Pusey’s words were “courageous in an environment so long foreign to their expression,” the editors of the Boston Pilot wrote.

A group of Divinity School students agreed, writing in an Oct. 7 statement to The Crimson that Pusey’s focus on the theological school was “a welcome change after the inattention received during the Conant regime.”

Pusey’s speech came in the midst of a Divinity School fundraising campaign to bring new life to the institution, which carried on Harvard’s traditional role as an institute of religious instruction and had existed as a separate school within the University since 1816.

In their statement, the Divinity School students echoed Pusey’s sentiment that the school’s reputation had suffered in recent years, though they said they thought it was undeserved.

“It is possibly easier to get into the Divinity School than most other schools in the University, but it is not easier to get a degree,” the students wrote. “The belief common around the University that educational standards here are low is nothing but a myth.”

In his attempt to improve the reputation of the school, Pusey faced two major challenges: raising the necessary money and selecting a new dean to replace Willard L. Sperry, who had retired in January 1953.

By a January 1954 deadline the school had raised less than half of the $2 million goal.

Pusey extended the deadline, but stressed that the money would only be used to set the school on a firmer foundation, and that it would eventually have to support itself like all of Harvard’s other graduate schools.

As part of its plan to be self-supporting and fund its expanded programs, the leaders of the Divinity School announced in November that the $150 tuition would increase after several years of running large deficits.

The school’s financial state also improved thanks to a high-profile $1 million gift from John D. Rockefeller, Jr. in January 1954, which Acting Dean George H. Williams said led to “an avalanche” of donations.

In a letter to Pusey announcing his donation, Rockefeller praised the president’s leadership on religious issues.

“Your profound belief in the underlying importance of the spiritual life promises to have far-reaching influence on education in this country,” Rockefeller wrote. “That one of your first concerns in accepting the presidency of Harvard University is the development of a strong and effective Divinity School further emphasized the strength of your belief.”