Bunting Sees Grad School Merger As Realistic But Not Vital Move

The merger of the Radcliffe Graduate School with the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences would be a "realistic step," according to Radcliffe President Mary I. Bunting.

Nevertheless, she said yesterday, "this is not a vital issue. Woman students are getting a good education now and still will whether or not the graduate schools are combined."

Listing the arguments in favor of a merger, she noted that the Harvard departments now actually choose the students to be admitted. "It's really a misrepresentation to call it the Radcliffe Graduate School. The Radcliffe Ph.D.'s work under the Harvard departments and many of them would like the Harvard label."

She also reiterated the argument that the University's unrestricted fellowship money would be available for women if the graduate schools were combined.

"Some people feel we can be of more assistance to woman graduate students by operating separately from Harvard," Mrs. Bunting commented. She noted, however, "If we did merge, we could still continue to run the Graduate Center. I would hope that we might have a Faculty member as head resident. Insofar as the graduate students want their own programs, they could continue to have them."

"Certain people think it's important to Radcliffe's prestige that we have our own graduate students," she said. "I think it's more important that we offer the best education possible and let our prestige take care of itself. These women would still be here, and we would still try to bring them in contact with the undergraduates."

So far, there are no plans to put a motion about the merger before the Faculty, President Bunting said. Such a motion, she noted, would be phrased "If Radcliffe should close its graduate school, would the University open its graduate school co-educationally to women?" The final decision would then be up to the Radcliffe administration.

Will Retain Library

Whether or not the graduate schools are merged, President Bunting probably intends to retain the College Library located in the Radcliffe Yard. When the new library-study-tutorial center is built in the residential Quadrangle, the Yard library will keep books used mostly by graduate students and might add some for students at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, which will move into Longfellow Hall on July 1, 1962.

Most of the $1.2 million which Radcliffe received from the sale of Longfellow Hall will be used to build the new house center planned for the west side of the residential Quadrangle and the library-study-tutorial center. The College will employ some of the money in renovating Fay House and moving the Radcliffe Alumnae Office and the College Fund Office from their current location in the basement of Longfellow to new quarters in Fay House.