AN UNEXPECTED HALT

By 1982, more than $13 million had been raised to cover construction costs and an endowment for the new museum, but the broader fiscal climate threatened to derail the Sackler entirely.

“That was a time of considerable inflation, and there was worry that the running costs—along with the attendant costs of guards and heat—would continue to rise, and ... there [wouldn’t be] enough money to cover that,” says Professor Emeritus of the History of Art and Architecture and former acting director of the Fogg John M. Rosenfield.

Ultimately, responding to financial concerns, then-University President Derek C. Bok interrupted a meeting of the Faculty of Fine Arts on Feb. 2, 1982 to announce that he was cancelling the Sackler project.

Bok’s decision resulted in an “international scandal,” drawing condemnation from across the University and beyond, Slive says.

According to a 1985 Crimson article, Ralph F. Colin, a member of the Fogg visiting committee, wrote to Bok at the time, saying that the President was either “unaware” of the Fogg’s significance or “unwilling to go to bat” to defend the institution.

“You may therefore take your choice as to whether ‘ignorance’ or ‘ignominy’ more aptly describes the basis of your behavior,” Colin continued.

By Feb. 22, Bok changed course, and announced that the building project could continue as long as the museum raised an additional $3 million by March 15 and another $3 million over the next three years.

With just three weeks to raise the capital, Slive began seeking large donors in order to meet the target.

“That was very painful. I had been out ... raising money. Then the goalposts changed and I had to raise more millions, and I was given a deadline,” Slive says.

Nonetheless, he managed to raise $3.1 million by March 15, ensuring that the Sackler project could continue. As a token of his appreciation, Slive distributed powdered sugar shakers—the closest thing he could find to a “tin cup”—to the half dozen donors who had helped him meet the fundraising target.

The shakers were engraved with the words “The Miracle On Quincy St. 15 March 1982.”

DESIGN WOES

For the students in the Class of 1986, who arrived at Harvard the following autumn, construction at the site of the Sackler was ongoing throughout most of their college careers.

But as the building took shape near Memorial Hall, not everyone was pleased with what they saw being built at the Sackler. The design of the building—including its light and dark brown-banded brick exterior, irregular window placement, and the two large pillars flanking the entrance—received mixed reviews from the Harvard community.