Harvard Figures Back Kennedy for Senate

Two major Harvard figures have endorsed U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy '54-'56 (D-Mass.), a longtime champion of funding to local medical schools and universities.

Former president Derek C. Bok and Dean of the Medical School Daniel C. Tosteson '46, along with the presidents of Boston University and Northeastern University, have all voiced their support of the senator in his re-election bid against Republican entrepreneur W. Mitt Romney.

If Kennedy doesn't win the race, research funds and financial aid at Harvard could suffer, Harvard administrators have said.

Kennedy heads the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, and has frequently directed federal money into educational institutions, particularly in the areas of financial aid and research.

"I have found Kennedy effective and well-informed regarding national policies affecting education," Bok said yesterday.

Bok said that Kennedy worked successfully to reduce the costs of financial aid by his support of direct lending.

"He was a staunch supporter of financial aid," Bok said. "He cut the cost of student aid by developing direct lending for the students, thereby cutting out the middlemen."

"He has helped to prevent 40 to 50 percent cuts for universities, preserving student aid programs," the former president added. "Student aid is the means for all students to go to college, and not be frozen out because of lack of funds."

Although these officials have stressed that their endorsements are not connected to their respective universities, the public may not notice, according to the Boston Globe.

"It's a very fine distinction, I'll grant you. Very fine," Aaron Lazare, a University of Massachusetts dean who is endorsing Kennedy, told the Globe.

Tosteson was out of town and could not be reached for comment yesterday.