Officials to Set Campaign Goal

In the next two days, top Harvard administrators will set goals for what is expected to be the largest funddrive in the history of higher education, Provost Jerry R. Green said yesterday.

Green said he, President Neil L. Rudenstine, fundraising and budget officials and the deans of the University's nine faculties will meet today and tomorrow at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Sources estimated a total goal of nearly $2 billion. Tens of millions have already been raised toward a "nucleus fund," which will be the foundation of the public capital campaign set to kick off in the 1992-93 academic year.

In addition to setting the overall goal, administrators will set sub-goals for the various faculties. Green said between 40 to 60 percent of the money raised will go to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Perhaps the key issue on the agenda at the retreat, though, will be how much Harvard wants to raise for an new central fund. The fund will serve as a "safety net" for the poorer graduate schools, will support centralized coordination of interfaculty programs and will include "flexible money for the future," Green said.

Green said the target for the central fund could be anywhere between 5 and 15 percent of the overall goal--which could translate into anywhere from about $100 to nearly $300 million.

Green said he expects the retreat to yield "a reasonably solid agreement" on the central fund.

The decision on the size of the central fundwill indicate the strength of Harvard's commitmentto University-wide cooperation, and just how muchthe richer faculties, such as the Business School,Law School and Medical School, are willing toshare their big donors.

Harvard has a long history of decentralization,and fundraising is no exception. Green said in thepast, donors have been "approached by five partsof Harvard at the same time."

But this time around, Rudenstine and Green arehoping for a new spirit of collaboration, not justwhen it comes to setting goals, but also in thefundraising itself.

"A donor will now be approached in acoordinated, University-wide way," Green said."You have to realize that the spirit is quitedifferent."

Green said lists of potential major donors tovarious schools have been cross-checked in theUniversity development office. Officials have alist of overlapping donors--about 800 people--andnow they are hashing out which schools get to askwhich donors for how much.

There's even been a dispute resolutionmechanism established for the inevitablefundraising duels which will arise. Green said heor Rudenstine will decide on squabbles that arisebetween schools over the chance to solicitparticular donors. Such disputes may be resolvedby asking the donor simply to give to projectsincluded in the central fund.

The new cooperation has its limits. Rudenstinehas pointed out that every school's first prioritymust be to raise money for their own individualneeds.

In fact, no one school will be actively raisingmoney for other schools; cooperation will happenat the level of the deans only, administratorssay.

"FAS people won't be raising money for otherparts of the University," Green said. "Each of theschools has its own fundraising operation, andtheir duty is to their own school."

In addition, some faculties which have noimmediate major needs will not have capitalcampaigns for their own schools

The decision on the size of the central fundwill indicate the strength of Harvard's commitmentto University-wide cooperation, and just how muchthe richer faculties, such as the Business School,Law School and Medical School, are willing toshare their big donors.

Harvard has a long history of decentralization,and fundraising is no exception. Green said in thepast, donors have been "approached by five partsof Harvard at the same time."

But this time around, Rudenstine and Green arehoping for a new spirit of collaboration, not justwhen it comes to setting goals, but also in thefundraising itself.

"A donor will now be approached in acoordinated, University-wide way," Green said."You have to realize that the spirit is quitedifferent."

Green said lists of potential major donors tovarious schools have been cross-checked in theUniversity development office. Officials have alist of overlapping donors--about 800 people--andnow they are hashing out which schools get to askwhich donors for how much.

There's even been a dispute resolutionmechanism established for the inevitablefundraising duels which will arise. Green said heor Rudenstine will decide on squabbles that arisebetween schools over the chance to solicitparticular donors. Such disputes may be resolvedby asking the donor simply to give to projectsincluded in the central fund.

The new cooperation has its limits. Rudenstinehas pointed out that every school's first prioritymust be to raise money for their own individualneeds.

In fact, no one school will be actively raisingmoney for other schools; cooperation will happenat the level of the deans only, administratorssay.

"FAS people won't be raising money for otherparts of the University," Green said. "Each of theschools has its own fundraising operation, andtheir duty is to their own school."

In addition, some faculties which have noimmediate major needs will not have capitalcampaigns for their own schools