Alumni Elect Six New Overseers

Two women and four men were newly elected to the Board of Overseers this spring. Harvard administrators announced following the annual meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association on the afternoon of Commencement Day.

Thirty-four thousand, three hundred fifty alumni, 19.08 percent of the total alumni body, cast ballots for the new officers, down from last year's participation rate of 20.6 percent, according to Katherine P. Hall of the Harvard Alumni Association.

Five of the new Overseers were elected to six-year terms. The sixth top vote-getter, Peter C.B. Bynoe '72, was elected to fill out the two years remaining in the term of Desmond Tutu, who resigned last summer.

With the resignation of Tutu and the ends of the terms of Peter H. Wood '64 and Consuela M. Washington, representation has ceased on the Board of Overseers of candidates sponsored by the Harvard-Radcliffe Alumni Against Apartheid (HRAAA), a pro-divestment group.

The liberalization of racial laws in South Africa has apparently signalled the end of the divestment debate on the board. HRAAA has not put forth candidates for the past two years.

Hall said that all of the nine candidates on the ballot this year were nominated by the Harvard Alumni Association.

Other Overseers whose terms ended in 1993 are Andrew F. Brimmer, Al Gore '69 and Jerome B. Wiesner.

Top vote-getter Anne Hazard Richardson '51, who garnered 22,624 votes, said she was "rather astounded" at her election, but said she would wait until she understood the dynamics of the board more thoroughly before choosing an area to specialize in.

Richardson, a former fourth-grade teacher and current chair of the board of Reading is Fundamental (RIF), said she wants Harvard to become more involved with K-12 education, one of the areas mentioned by President Neil L. Rudenstine in his speech on Commencement Day.

"If I had to point to one thing [specifically]...I hope there is a way to find a role for Harvard to do good things for our public school system," she said. "I'm hoping there will be a wide array of people who will get out there and do things."

While this may have not been the year of divestment, there are some indications that it was the year of the woman, according to Richardson. The other woman elected was Charlotte P. Armstrong '49, the fourth top vote-getter with 18,386 votes.

"I got the impression that there has been a feeling for a long time that there are not enough women among the Overseers," Richardson said.

But Stephen B. Kay '56, the third top vote-getter with 19,359 votes, said he thought the Overseers had been focusing hard on diversifying the board in general over the past several years.

"Harvard is a very different place than it was," Kay said. "The world has changed. I think it's important that the Overseers reflect the student body."

Other new Overseers were Counselor for the State Department Timothy E. Wirth '61, who was ranked second with 21,629 votes, and President of Rockefeller University Torsten N. Wiesel, who placed fifth with 18,355 votes.

The Harvard Alumni Association elected Sharon E. Gagnon, president of the board of regents at the University of Alaska, to a one-year term as president of the association.

Alumni also elected six new Harvard Alumni Association directors: Merom Brachman '58, Nancy D. Israel '76, Joseph J. O'Donnell '67, Deval L. Patrick '78, T'ing C. Pei '65 and Ciji Ware '64

Richardson, a former fourth-grade teacher and current chair of the board of Reading is Fundamental (RIF), said she wants Harvard to become more involved with K-12 education, one of the areas mentioned by President Neil L. Rudenstine in his speech on Commencement Day.

"If I had to point to one thing [specifically]...I hope there is a way to find a role for Harvard to do good things for our public school system," she said. "I'm hoping there will be a wide array of people who will get out there and do things."

While this may have not been the year of divestment, there are some indications that it was the year of the woman, according to Richardson. The other woman elected was Charlotte P. Armstrong '49, the fourth top vote-getter with 18,386 votes.

"I got the impression that there has been a feeling for a long time that there are not enough women among the Overseers," Richardson said.

But Stephen B. Kay '56, the third top vote-getter with 19,359 votes, said he thought the Overseers had been focusing hard on diversifying the board in general over the past several years.

"Harvard is a very different place than it was," Kay said. "The world has changed. I think it's important that the Overseers reflect the student body."

Other new Overseers were Counselor for the State Department Timothy E. Wirth '61, who was ranked second with 21,629 votes, and President of Rockefeller University Torsten N. Wiesel, who placed fifth with 18,355 votes.

The Harvard Alumni Association elected Sharon E. Gagnon, president of the board of regents at the University of Alaska, to a one-year term as president of the association.

Alumni also elected six new Harvard Alumni Association directors: Merom Brachman '58, Nancy D. Israel '76, Joseph J. O'Donnell '67, Deval L. Patrick '78, T'ing C. Pei '65 and Ciji Ware '64