Alumni Association Nominates Twelve Candidates for Director

"Harvard has too many masters to speak with one voice, and I'd like to see Harvard take positions that would create dialogue throughout the country," says Edward Dugger III '71, one of the 12 candidates now vying to become Directors of the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA).

All University degree holders will be eligible to vote for six new Directors this spring, who will join the 87 other Directors of the HAA in coordinating alumni activities that encompass fundraising, reunions, Visiting committees, and commencements.

Nominations for six positions are solicited each year from all alumni. A screening committee then selects a slate of qualified candidates for the spring ballotting.

While most of the candidates contacted yesterday voiced enthusiasm about the opportunity to serve Harvard, few had any specific plans or goals for the University.

"I'm not sure what the role of an Alumni Director is," said Philip M. Meyers Jr. '54, "but I'm sure it would be an interesting and stimulating experience."

Gerald D. Murphy '62 agreed that he also has "no specific cross to bear" but is interested in helping Harvard "maintain the level of excellence it has shown in the past."

Murphy, Chairman and President of Early California Industries, Inc., has participated in Harvard fundraising in California.

Mary Ellen Reineri Thomsen '56 said she is "especially interested in learning new ways to get alumni to part with their money."

Thomsen, whose alumni experience includes a stint working for Harvard Magazine, also voiced interest in "bringing the alumni back to the college, so they could see what college life is like today."

Although Rosalyne S. Bernstein '50, another nominee, said she "has no idea at the moment" of what she would like to accomplish if elected, she said she is running in part because "it would be interesting to have a perspective from a woman's point of view on the board."

Bernstein, who served as Chairman of the school board of Portland, Maine, added that she has "always had an interest in education, and in Harvard in particular."