Corporation Will Decide On GMProxy Policy Today

The Corporation will decide today how Harvard votes its 288,160 shares in the General Motors proxy battle.

Campaign GM has introduced three resolutions on the GM proxy statement. If approved, they would:

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

expand the Board to include three directors nominated by constituent groups of dealers, employees and consumers;

require General Motors to publish information on its policies concerning auto safety, pollution control and minority hiring.

South Africa

The Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church has introduced another resolution, calling for General Motors to end all activities in the Republic of South Africa.

GM management opposes both the Campaign GM and the Episcopal Church resolutions. The shareholders vote will be tallied at the annual meeting on Friday.

Last year, when Campaign GM presented a different set of resolutions, the Corporation voted against them, despite a Faculty vote of support and a poll that indicated widespread student backing.

This year, the coordinators of Campaign GM at Harvard have not held opinion polls or pushed for another Faculty vote because, they say, the Harvard community's opinion on the issue has already been determined.

So far, the third proposal-on disclosure of information-has won the most support. Large institutional supporters of the third proposal include the Teachers Insurance Annuity Association and the first National Bank of Pennsylvania.

Some colleges have pledged their votes for the first proposal-on expanding the Board-as well as for the third. Brown, Bryn Mawr, Antioch and Vassar have supported those two resolutions.

Many colleges, including Yale, have sold most of their General Motors stock, a policy that Campaign GM spokesmen have criticized as an evasion of the issue.