Corporation to Meet On GM Proxy Issue

At its meeting Monday, the Harvard Corporation will discuss and perhaps decide how Harvard will vote in the General Motors proxy battle.

Harvard owns 288,160 GM shares worth $17,901,940. Last year, Harvard sided with management and voted against the Campaign GM proposals on corporate responsibility.

This year, Campaign GM-directed by a group of Washington lawyers that Ralph Nader supports-has made new proposals and, according to Sargent Kennedy '28, Secretary to the Corporation, the Harvard Corporation is "examining them carefully."

Because George F. Bennett '33, Treasurer of Harvard College, is still out of town, the Corporation may wait until its next meeting, on May 17, before it decides how to vote, Kennedy said.

Bennett is finishing off a month-long trip abroad and is due back late next week.

"Before We Decide"

"We all value Mr. Bennett's opinion very highly and would of course like to hear what he has to say before we decide," Kennedy said. A representative of the Treasurer's office will attend Monday's Corporation meeting in Bennett's place.

Since the GM annual meeting will be held May 21, the Harvard Corporation could wait until its May 17 meeting before voting its proxies.

Spokesman for Campaign GM have criticized Bennett, particularly after he was recently designated the sole management nominee for a seat on the Board of Directors of the Ford Motor Corporation.

"Inexcusable"

"It's inexcusable that Bennett should participate in the decision in view of the Austin report in view of his beingnominated to the Ford Corporation Board, and in view of his not really reading the proposals and looking at myths rather than examining realities," Philip W. Moore, executive director of the Project on Corporate Responsibility-the organization backing Campaign GM-said yesterday.

The Austin Committee, in a report issued March 4, called for an examination of the Treasurer's office. It recommended separating the offices of chief financial officer and investment manager. Bennett now holds both posts.

In that report, the Austin Committee advised the University "to vote its stock on occasion in favor of change," but stressed Harvard's responsibility to "strive fundamentally for maximum return."

Campaign GM has introduced three resolutions on the proxy statement.

Proposal One would allow shareholders to nominate by petition candidates for the Board of Directors. The names of these nominees would be listed alongside the management slate on the proxy statement.

Proposal Two would expand the Board to include three Directors nominated by constituent groups of employees, consumers and dealers.

Proposal Three would require the company to provide specific information in its annual report on minority hiring, air pollution and auto-safety policies.

So far, four colleges have announced their support for one or more of the Campaign GM proposals. Bryn Mawr, Brown and Antioch voted in favor of the first and third proposals; Pomona voted only for the third.

Large institutional supporters of the third proposal include the Teachers Insurance Annuity Association (700,000 shares) and the First National Bank of Pennsylvania (300,000 shares). The Dreyfus Fund has agreed to poll its shareholders before voting its proxies.

A Campaign GM spokesman said yesterday that the second proposal-which has received little support-was added "to arouse debate" while the third, in particular, "we're very optimistic about."

The Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church has introduced another resolution on the GM proxy statement. If passed, it would require GM to wind up operations in the Republic of South Africa. GM has investments in South Africa valued at $125 million.

According to the Rev. Everett Francis, coordinator of the campaign, the proxy solicitors have not yet received any institutional support.

Asked about his chances for victory, Francis said, "We do it to win but I don't think we get much further than raising the issue."

Last Tuesday Harvard voted its Gulf Oil proxies against a similar proposal which demanded that Gulf get out of Angola, a Portuguese colony in Africa.