The Strauch Committee: Lifting the Veil of Secrecy

Since the Strauch Committee was formed last January. Harvard and Radcliffe administrators have gracefully declined to speculate about the future of undergraduate admissions policies. The standard line has been that it would not be prudent or proper to make any comments before Karl Strauch, professor of Physics, conveys his Committee's report to Presidents Bok and Horner.

This month the report from the 16-member student - faculty - alumni - administration committee is due. Once it is turned over to Bok and Horner and forwarded to the Joint Policy Committee, that group will review the report and decide whether to accept the recommendations it contains.

Although administrators have declined comment and Strauch has conducted his committee's meetings in a veil of secrecy, it now appears inevitable that Harvard and Radcliffe will move to some form of equal access admissions. This will probably mean a consolidation of the Harvard and Radcliffe admissions staffs, regardless of the outcome of the current round of merger talkes.

The major issue that has confronted the committee has been just how to achieve the increase in the number of women in the College. Alumni and some administrators have expressed grave concern about the possible effects of a decrease in the number of men. On the other hand, students and some faculty say that expansion is not a satisfactory alternative because the College is already crowded enough.

Last month, L. Fred Jewett '57, director of Harvard Admissions and a member of the Strauch Committee, wrote a compromise report on the expansion question. The report has not been released (it will be part of the Committee's final report), but Jewett apparently succeeded in working out recommendations satisfactory both to opponents and to supporters of expansion.

Jewett has said previously that he (and other members of the committee) do not want the question of major expansion of the College to be linked with the admissions issue. Harvard and Radcliffe may have to increase their enrollments for economic reasons. Jewett says, but this should not be a factor in the Strauch Committee recommendations.

Whatever the specifics of the final Strauch report are, their implementation will undoubtedly be gradual. A five-year evolution from 1200 down to but never below about 1000 men per year and an increase in women from about 450 to about 800 per year may emerge as the most drastic change resulting from this review of Harvard and Radcliffe admissions.