Bunting Praises Radcliffe Insititute

Outgoing Radcliffe President Mary I. Bunting Tuesday night gave her evaluation of what has been one of her per projects during her tenure here, the Radcliffe Institute.

Speaking before a crowd of 250 women and a few men at the final session of the Institute's two-day women's conference, Bunting praised the Institute for "offering a supportive rather than a competitive academic structure and for facing squarely the problems of married women and their families."

Using the Institute model of providing an open academic climate for women wishing to pursue independent study. Bunting further suggested that universities could exited some such study opportunities to the outside community.

"I am proposing tonight that universities, at least to a small degree, become centers of learning for adults who are not looking for degrees but for an environment conducive to the pursuit of knowledge and artistic expression," Bunting said.

The idea for the Institute came originality form Bunting's thoughts in 1960 about what could be done to clear up the confused goals of women's education.

Bunting explained Tuesday night that "that at that time it was generally assumed that women could not be expected to contribute significantly to intellectual advances in any rigorous field of study or action."

According to Bunting, the Radcliffe Institute was a way for Radcliffe to demonstrate its concern with the future of women's education by aiding those women who wished to pursue advanced studies or research.

President Bok introduced Bunting to the crowd, describing the two-day women's conference as a tribute to the outgoing President. He also remarked that the viewed "Polly" as a wise older sister since he as a newcomer had received much valuable advice from her.

Bunting countered His remark by saying. "I've always been fond of kind brothers, although I'm not too sure about the kin part in this case."

Bunting was greeted with a standing ovation from the crowd at the opening of her speech.