Radcliffe Names New Vice President

University of Minnesota professor Barbara J. Nelson has been appointed vice president of Radcliffe College, the school's administration announced yesterday.

Nelson, who was awarded the newly-created position in July, will officially start work on October 14, Radcliffe President Linda S. Wilson said in a phone interview from Houston yesterday.

Officials at Radcliffe said the position was created in part to take pressure off Wilson. Bonnie R. Clendenning, Radcliffe's vice president for college relations, said she hoped Nelson's appointment would allow the president more time to travel around the country and talk about Radcliffe.

Nelson will also assume the role of acting president if Wilson is away for an extended period.

As Radcliffe vice president, Nelson will supervise all of the school's non-administrative programs, Wilson said. Such programs include overseeing everything from the dean's office to the Radcliffe Career Services to the Schlesinger Library, officials said.

"Fostering the growth of Radcliffe College's distinguished academic programs will require imaginative and creative leadership, and I look forward to that challenge," Nelson said in a statement.

Radcliffe conducted a nationwide search for its new vice president, Wilson said. Nelson's research in the area of women, politics and public policy was a large factor in her selection.

"Her fields of expertise and her experience in working in collaborative projects will be especially valuable in the development of Radcliffe's new Public Policy Institute," Wilson said.

Nelson said that even with her new administrative duties, she will be able to do her research. Her two current

research projects are "The Practical Politics of Diversity: Policy Making for the 21st Century" and "Women, Immigration, and Public Policy."

"I am thrilled that she's coming to Radcliffe," Dean of Radcliffe College Philippa Bovet said. "I'm particularly thrilled because I think she will be a wonderful resource for undergraduates."

But, in recent years, undergraduates have complained that Radcliffe does little to reach out to students. Several student groups have suggested that the college's policy of providing the vast majority of its services to women is discriminatory.

"It's kind of surprising when she's guaranteed to be in human contact at the University of Minnesota to go to a job where actual student contact is very small," said Matthew L. Bruce '96, editor of the conservative magazine Salient, of Nelson's appointment.

The Salient has been one of numerous publications on all points of the political spectrum to have severely criticized Radcliffe policies in recent years.

Prolific Author

The author of more than 50 published articles and chapters and four published books, Nelson has a Ph.D. and master's and bachelor's degrees from Ohio State University.

Nelson has been on the faculty of the University of Minnesota since 1983, where she has taught political science, women's studies, social work and American studies. Since 1989, Nelson has been a professor at the University of Minnesota's Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.

She is the recipient of about 17 academic awards, most recently the Ford Foundation Grant for Diversity and Public Problem Solving, 1993-95

research projects are "The Practical Politics of Diversity: Policy Making for the 21st Century" and "Women, Immigration, and Public Policy."

"I am thrilled that she's coming to Radcliffe," Dean of Radcliffe College Philippa Bovet said. "I'm particularly thrilled because I think she will be a wonderful resource for undergraduates."

But, in recent years, undergraduates have complained that Radcliffe does little to reach out to students. Several student groups have suggested that the college's policy of providing the vast majority of its services to women is discriminatory.

"It's kind of surprising when she's guaranteed to be in human contact at the University of Minnesota to go to a job where actual student contact is very small," said Matthew L. Bruce '96, editor of the conservative magazine Salient, of Nelson's appointment.

The Salient has been one of numerous publications on all points of the political spectrum to have severely criticized Radcliffe policies in recent years.

Prolific Author

The author of more than 50 published articles and chapters and four published books, Nelson has a Ph.D. and master's and bachelor's degrees from Ohio State University.

Nelson has been on the faculty of the University of Minnesota since 1983, where she has taught political science, women's studies, social work and American studies. Since 1989, Nelson has been a professor at the University of Minnesota's Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.

She is the recipient of about 17 academic awards, most recently the Ford Foundation Grant for Diversity and Public Problem Solving, 1993-95