Green to Be Named Provost

Wells Professor of Political Economy Jerry Richard Green will likely be named today as the University's provost, sources said yesterday.

President Neil L. Rudenstine said in an interview yesterday that he will announce the selection at a press conference this afternoon. He said the offer was made and accepted on the spot earlier this week, but would not identify the final candidate.

The provost, the number two ranking University official and the only University-wide academic officer besides Rudenstine, will bear the chief responsibility for directing Harvard's academic planning process and the ensuing multi-billion dollar fund drive.

He will work closely with the president and play a key role in Rudenstine's effort to enhance cooperation among the University's 10 faculties.

Green, 45, has long been an insider on the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. He chaired the Economics Department between 1984 and 1987 and currently serves as chair of the Faculty's Retirement Policy Committee and a committee on professional conduct.

Several sources close to Green strongly suggested yesterday that Rudenstine had selected the economist.

Green's assistant referred questions about today's press conference to the Harvard news office. Green could not be reached for comment.

Professor of Economics Eric S. Maskin, one of Green's closest colleagues, described the new provost as "a loyal Harvard citizen."

Green, an economic theorist whose research has covered a variety of topics, arrived at Harvard as an assistant professor in 1970 and has been here ever since. He was promoted to associate professor in 1973, and he accepted a tenured post in 1978, at age 32.

Faculty members and administration officials praised Green's judgment and said his experience as an economist will be extremely helpful as the University confronts growing budget deficits.

Whitehead Professor of Political Philosophy Dennis F. Thompson, a close friend of Rudenstine, was seriously considered for the provost job, sources said. Rudenstine may have turned him down because he lacks extensive experience with any one Harvard faculty, one source said.

Thompson, 51, is the founding director of the Program in Ethics and the Professions. He has only been at Harvard for five years, and Rudenstine may have preferred Green's long record of service here in choosing his second in command.

Green was the youngest candidate in a pool of 12 scholars said to be under consideration during an intermediate stage of the search.

Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles, who would not confirm the Green appointment, said last night the University is looking "towards the future" as it appoints its first provost since the 1950s.

Rudenstine, himself a former Princeton provost, announced his intention to create the post shortly after taking office last summer. He began the search this fall after consulting widely with students, faculty andadministrators.

Most administrators and faculty members agreethat the University has grown too large andcomplex for the president to do an adequate job ofacademic planning alone, though some are concernedthat the post might create a new layer of bureaucracy

Most administrators and faculty members agreethat the University has grown too large andcomplex for the president to do an adequate job ofacademic planning alone, though some are concernedthat the post might create a new layer of bureaucracy