Rubin Retains Harvard Finance Posts

The chair of President Clinton's National Economic Council continues to serve as a member of the Committee on University Resources and the board of directors of the Harvard Management Company (HMC).

Robert E. Rubin '60, the former co-chair of the New York-based investment firm Goldman Sachs, is charged with coordinating economic planning for the Clinton administration.

As one of 10 directors of HMC--which manages Harvard's $5.1 billion endowment--Rubin is also responsible for helping to design and oversee the University's investment policies. Rubin joined the HMC board in March, 1991.

Rubin resigned his position at Goldman Sachs following his appointment to the administration in early December.

According to HMC President Jack R. Meyer, Rubin has not yet decided whether or not to sever his ties with the management company.

"He has a lot of obligations that he's in the process of sorting out, and this is one of them," Meyer said. "I suspect we will know in the near term whether he plans to continue [as an HMC director]."

A spokesperson for the National Economic Council said that Rubin was meeting with President Clinton last night and was unavailable for comment.

Meyer, who also serves on the HMC board, said that Rubin has been in contact with the HMC leadership to discuss his future with the company, adding that the final decision remains up to Rubin.

"There has been communication, but we're still communicating on that," Meyer said. "We would be delighted to have him stay on the board if he felt that he could do that in his current capacity."

"I don't see a conflict of interest in terms of HMC's situation, but I can see that he may believe that he would have a conflict serving or the HMC board and also in his current governmental capacity," Meyer added. "That is a decision that he should make and not us."

Meyer declined to comment on whether Rubin had been contacted by HMC or whether he had initiated the conversations about his future with the company. But Harvard Vice President for Finance Robert H. Scott said that he believes Rubin was contacted by HMC.

"I assume that as soon as he was appointed, they communicated with him and asked him whether he would continue or not (at HMC)," Scott said, adding that he is not certain whether Rubin's dual roles constitute a conflict of interest.

"Here he is a member of a board and an outside advisor," Scott said.

"The vice president of the United States is a member of the board of overseers," he added, referring to the membership of Vice President Albert A. Gore Jr. '69 on one of the University's top governing bodies.

Gore, who became an overseer while serving as a United States senator from Tennessee, has not resigned his Harvard position since assuming his new post. His term expires this year.

Another top economic advisor to President Clinton, Labor Secretary Robert B. Reich, resigned his post as a trustee of Dartmouth College when he was appointed to the administration.

Meyer said that Rubin did not attend the HMC board's last meeting on December 10. The next meeting of the group, which meets four times annually, is scheduled for March 11.

In addition to his roles at HMC and on the Resources Committee, Rubin has maintained a steady affiliation with Harvard since his graduation from the College.

The summa cum laude graduate in economics has served as a member of the Visiting Committee to the Economics Department last spring, Rubin ran unsuccessfully for a post on the Board of Overseers.

Messages left with the White House Office of Media Affairs were not returned

Meyer said that Rubin did not attend the HMC board's last meeting on December 10. The next meeting of the group, which meets four times annually, is scheduled for March 11.

In addition to his roles at HMC and on the Resources Committee, Rubin has maintained a steady affiliation with Harvard since his graduation from the College.

The summa cum laude graduate in economics has served as a member of the Visiting Committee to the Economics Department last spring, Rubin ran unsuccessfully for a post on the Board of Overseers.

Messages left with the White House Office of Media Affairs were not returned