Past Deans Took Longer to Appoint

President Bok's appointment today of Henry Rosovsky as the new dean of the Faculty ends an interregnum in University Hall that was somewhat longer than expected.

Bok had said in January, when John T. Dunlop resigned, that a new dean would be appointed by middle or late March, so today's appointment comes about one month later than originally anticipated.

The absence this spring of any earth-shaking crises affecting the dean's office has made the delay seem less important.

Shared the Duties

Franklin L. Ford, acting dean of the Faculty, and Harvey Brooks, dean of Engineering and Applied Physics, have shared the duties of the post since early February, but no upheavals have forced them into the University spotlight.

In comparison with his predecessor, Bok moved swiftly to fill the vacant position. McGeorge Bundy resigned the post in December 1960 to join the Kennedy Administration, but it took President emeritus Nathan M. Pusey '28 18 months to select a new dean.

Pusey tapped Ford in June 1962 after serving himself as acting dean, a move that had drawn considerable fire.

After Ford departed in the wake of the 1969 University Hall occupation and the ensuing upheaval, Pusey installed Edward S. Mason as acting dean.

He selected Dunlop that Fall as an acting replacement, and Dunlop's appointment was made permanent six months later.

Two of Rosovsky's three predecessors have left the dean's office for prominent positions. Bundy, as Kennedy's special assistant for national security, helped plan the American involvement in Indochina in the early 1960s.

He stayed on and helped implement the plans under the late Lyndon B. Johnson. Bundy left the White House in 1967 to become president of the Ford Foundation a position he holds today.

Dunlop became director of Richard Nixon's Cost of Living Council, which has been assigned with the task of keeping the damper on inflation without resorting to government wage and price controls. Inflation is currently at its highest rate since the Korean War.

Return to Teaching

Ford by contrast returned to his teaching duties as McLean Professor of Ancient and Modern History after he left University Hall.

Today's appointment ends rampant speculation among Faculty members as to the identity of the new dean. Speculation had centered on Rosovsky from the outset of the search, and his chances continually improved as alternatives were discarded for one reason or another.

The Crimson reported on March 27 that Rosovsky and Gardner E. Lindzey, professor of Psychology, were the front-runners for the position at that time.

Several authoritative sources identified the two men as having outdistanced the other competition. But Lindzey dropped from the running late last month when he announced his decision to return to the University of Texas to assume an administrative post there.

James Q. Wilson, professor of Government, was considered a likely prospect at the outset, the sources said. Wilson, however, faded from serious contention, primarily because several groups in the Faculty objected to what they considered his conservative stances on Faculty and national politics, the sources explained.

Alan E. Heimert '49, Cabot Professor of American Literature, who was also considered a possibility for the position, similarly trailed the field, primarily because he was not believed adept at Faculty politics, the sources said.

Rosovsky was acceptable to both wings of Faculty opinion, the sources said, and coupled with his extensive administrative experience he was a good bet for the post all along.