Bigwood Scores New Placement Policy

"If you're a Harvard man and not employed, the hell with you. They figure the magic of the Harvard name will get you a job," A. Winton Bigwood '41 said recently.

Bigwood was referring to a policy of the Office of Graduate and Career Plans to emphasize placement and career planning for undergraduates, rather than finding jobs for alumni. According to Dean Monro, since the office reopened after World War II, it has not tried to place alumni, especially those of five years' standing.

Recently, this policy has been firmly established by a vote of the Faculty, and the name of the office has been changed from the Office of Student Placement to the present title. "Since there are more than 50,000 Harvard alumni," Richard G. King, Director of the Office, explains, "we can't do the job for all. We don't pretend to be able to help men like Bigwood."

"I admit Harvard does not have the responsibility to find jobs for graduates," Bigwood remarked, "but there is a factor of moral suasion." He said he thought the University might have "some possible duty in helping people."

He added, "I'm sure the decision wasn't thought through thoroughly. Even though the jobs they found me were temporary, it was a big aid." Bigwood said he had gotten three jobs through the Office, "all of which would have been permanent, except for extenuating circumstances."

In his crusade, Bigwood has enlisted the aid of Langdon Parker Marvin, Jr. '41, of Washington, D.C., who he said was "Roosevelt's God-son." Bigwood quoted a letter from Marvin saying, "As an Overseer, I imagine JFK would be very interested in any ruling that the Placement Office at Harvard would not do anything for alumni over a certain age.

"It would also be of no little interest to me since I put through the Student Council report enlarging the Placement Office from dealing with small and summer or part-time jobs to being a real placement service for alumni. . . ."

Bigwood said that Marvin was "going to see Kennedy next week," and would add documentation of the Office's "new" policy "to an envelope he's going to take to the White House."

In New York, Marvin did not say that he was going to contact Kennedy personally. "I merely asked, if that was the case, would Bigwood get hold of the documents," Marvin stated. "I said Kennedy would be interested. I'm surprised Wint is making such an issue of it."

When asked whether he knew Kennedy personally, Marvin said, "Well, I'm an old friend of his, yes." He also observed, "Every two-by-four business school has a placement office for alumni."