Rudenstine: International Center, Information Technology Top Goals

University planning efforts this year will focus on academic computing, a new international studies quadrangle on campus and a program to manage not-for-profit organizations, President Neil L. Rudenstine said in an interview yesterday.

Although Rudenstine said he is "Pushing hard" in several areas, he acknowledged that the agenda for the University's central administration is largely a continuation of last year's trends.

The emphasis on academic information technology follows on the heels of Project ADAPT, which is designed to overhaul the administrative computing system and centralize some functions.

But Rudenstine said the academic computing initiative will be individually tailored to each school's needs and will not likely have the same centralized character as Project ADAPT.

"It has been at the forefront of discussions with the deans," Rudenstine said. "The information technology agenda will bring-about a profound change, and we're putting a lot of emphasis on that."

Rudenstine said he will push forward in new areas such as the creation of a new international studies quadrangle, which would consist of Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) departments, such as the Government Departement, and research centers, such as the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies.

Such a centralized location, which would include a cafe and other common areas, would allow scholars and students from different departments to interact and share ideas, Rudenstine said.

But he added that construction of such a quad depends on whether the University can secure funding for the program.

Despite a similar move toward interaction among departments with the renovation of the Freshman Union into the Barker Center for the Humanities, Rudenstine said the University is not heading toward specialized sub-faculties within FAS.

The idea for an international studies quad was prompted in part by the severe overcrowding in Littauer Half, which currently houses both the Government and Economics Departments.

If the Government Department were relocated, the Economics Department would have the space it needs and Government faculty members would benefit from a new location close to other related departments, Rudenstine said.

He also said several schools--notably the Law, Business and Kennedy Schools--are considering a new "sub-track" in management of not-for-profit organizations.

The University will consider the creation of such a program during the upcoming year, Rudenstine said.

"It's a set of problems whose time has come," Rudenstine said.