Public Policy Program Admits Largest Class, More Women

The entering class this fall in the Public Policy program of the Kennedy School of Government will be the largest and most talented class admitted in the history of the program, with women and minority students making up half the class, Graham T. Allison '62, dean-designate of the Kennedy School, said yesterday.

The incoming class of 50, 12 per cent larger than last year, includes 20 women and four minority students, Allison said.

Recruitment and outreach programs help to explain the large number of women and minorities, Ira A. Jackson '70, associate dean of the Kennedy School, said yesterday. "The talent is there, and we don't have nearly enough minority representation, so we're not self-righteous," Jackson said.

Playing the Numbers

The Public Policy program admitted 65 applicants out of a pool of about 240. Of those admitted, five did not choose to attend the program, and ten deferred admission to begin studies in law or medicine, he said.

Jackson called the entering class a "fabulously talented group of people" with not only extremely high Graduate Record Examination scores, but also extensive previous experience in all levels of government.

Allison said the admissions committee "worked hard to get a class which, in its diversity in background and experience, makes a good mix."

The intellectual strength and divegsity of the incoming class "means we can expand the number of graduates without diluting the intellectual quality of the program," Jackson said.

Jackson added that the quality of the class also helps to establish the eight-year-old Public Policy program as a substantial training course for economic and political analysis of the formation of public policy. S.D.C.