Radcliffe Sees Third Departure Since June

Radcliffe College Director of Communications Lyn Chamberlin will step down today after five years on the job to become the director of business development at MIT's Technology Review.

Chamberlin will be the third high-ranking administrator to leave Radcliffe in the last six months--six months in which the institution has entered a soul-searching campaign to consider shedding its college label and establishing a new relationship with Harvard.

In mid-December, seven-year veteran Radcliffe Vice President for Finance and Administration Nancy J. Dunn left the 119-year old institution to become the Chief Financial Officer of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Washington, D.C.

In June, Director of Development Martha Ann Fuller left Radcliffe to assuming the position of assistant dean for development at the school of humanities and social sciences at MIT.

At least one Radcliffe source called the recent departures a "mass exodus," characterizing a situation in which those who should be most interested in helping build a newly energized Radcliffe of the future are instead "jumping for the lifeboats."

But other Radcliffe officials insist the departures are unconnected, an example instead of the natural ebb and flow of staff hirings at academic institutions.

"It's common in the academic world for the most seasoned faculty to have tenure and stay forever, but everyone else is part of the market," said Vice President for College Relations Bonnie R. Clendenning. "Not only do people leave, but people come."

Radcliffe's Office of Communications notes that a new director of the Murray Research Center has been named and will be announced next week. The position has been officially vacant for the past semester, with Assistant Director Jacquelyn James pinch-hitting in the role.

According to Clendenning, Radcliffe is constantly fighting off "corporate raiders," interested in hiring away its excellent staff.

"We wouldn't want people who are so ill thought of by their community that nobody wants them," she said.

Yet, Chamberlin said a climate currently exists at Radcliffe which encourages good people to look for attractive offers elsewhere.

"I did not feel recognized for what I brought to the table, and many people are devalued in that way to the great detriment of this institution," she said.

Chamberlin's new position will involve promoting awareness of the Technology Review, which serves both as MIT's alumni magazine and a competitor to Fast Company and Forbes.

"It was very hard to turn down. It combines all of my interests--technology, publishing, business within a premier academic environment," Chamberlin said.

But she said a sense of impatience with Radcliffe's lack of vision contributed to her decision to move.

"There was nothing to keep me here. The opportunity presented to me [at MIT] was more compelling to me than the one at Radcliffe," she said. "In order to retain the kind of people that will move this institution forward, they need to be given authority as well as responsibility--and be respected for their professional skill and knowledge."

Susan Eaton '79, secretary of the Radcliffe College Alumnae Association said that keeping good employees is always harder when an organization is in flux.

"It must be very difficult to work in a climate where it feels like things are uncertain," Eaton said. "Of course we're on the one hand concerned that people are leaving, but on the other hand happy to see that they have new opportunities."

Dunn denied that her decision to join the WWF was motivated by any reason other than career advancement.

"We've all left for personal, professional development reasons," she said. "I don't think there's a climate of departure at all."

Fuller, whose departure left Radcliffe's $100 million capital campaign in the hands of her immediate subordinate Joanna N. Brode, cited personal reasons for her departure.

No immediate successors have been named to Chamberlin or Dunn's positions, leaving a smaller Radcliffe administration to deal with students and alumnae as the institution continues sporadic talks with Harvard about the future of the relationship between the two.

Clendenning will take over for Chamberlin as acting director of communications until the position can be filled permanently, Clendenning said.

And Dunn said yesterday that her duties have filtered down to her former staff in the finance office, with Radcliffe College President Linda S. Wilson assuming supervisory duties over the office.

In other Radcliffe news, an alumnae proposal in the recently released winter issue of the Radcliffe Quarterly called for Radcliffe to be converted into a charitable foundation.

Under the plan, proposed in a letter to the editor by Linda Greenhouse '68, who is a former Crimson editor, Radcliffe's $200 million endowment, along with money obtained by selling its Cambridge property to Harvard, would form the basis for the Radcliffe Foundation for the Advancement of Women.

The foundation would continue to fund Radcliffe's current major interests, including the Bunting Institute and the Murray Research Center. Money from the foundation could be used to fund programs for undergraduate women, long a desire of outspoken alumnae.

The Greenhouse plan offers an alternative to an alumnae proposal by Joy Kahlenberg Fallon '78, Renee Landers '77 and Eaton, in which Radcliffe College would become an institute affiliated with Harvard called the Radcliffe Center for the Advancement of Women.

"What we're trying to do is get as many proposals out there for alumnae to look at as possible," said Radcliffe College Alumnae Association President Jane E. Tewksbury '74.

Eaton said last night that she is wary that a foundation would totally divorce Radcliffe from Harvard.

"I think it's interesting idea. I still think [the Fallon, Landers and Eaton plan] would be more consistent with Radcliffe's mission to figure out a way Radcliffe could be active as part of the broader Harvard community," she said.

College officials have been quick to note that any decision about Radcliffe's future ultimately rests with the college's Board of Trustees and its chairman Nancy-Beth G. Sheerr '71.

"I did not feel recognized for what I brought to the table."  Lyn Chamberlin  Radcliffe's departing director of communications

Yet, Chamberlin said a climate currently exists at Radcliffe which encourages good people to look for attractive offers elsewhere.

"I did not feel recognized for what I brought to the table, and many people are devalued in that way to the great detriment of this institution," she said.

Chamberlin's new position will involve promoting awareness of the Technology Review, which serves both as MIT's alumni magazine and a competitor to Fast Company and Forbes.

"It was very hard to turn down. It combines all of my interests--technology, publishing, business within a premier academic environment," Chamberlin said.

But she said a sense of impatience with Radcliffe's lack of vision contributed to her decision to move.

"There was nothing to keep me here. The opportunity presented to me [at MIT] was more compelling to me than the one at Radcliffe," she said. "In order to retain the kind of people that will move this institution forward, they need to be given authority as well as responsibility--and be respected for their professional skill and knowledge."

Susan Eaton '79, secretary of the Radcliffe College Alumnae Association said that keeping good employees is always harder when an organization is in flux.

"It must be very difficult to work in a climate where it feels like things are uncertain," Eaton said. "Of course we're on the one hand concerned that people are leaving, but on the other hand happy to see that they have new opportunities."

Dunn denied that her decision to join the WWF was motivated by any reason other than career advancement.

"We've all left for personal, professional development reasons," she said. "I don't think there's a climate of departure at all."

Fuller, whose departure left Radcliffe's $100 million capital campaign in the hands of her immediate subordinate Joanna N. Brode, cited personal reasons for her departure.

No immediate successors have been named to Chamberlin or Dunn's positions, leaving a smaller Radcliffe administration to deal with students and alumnae as the institution continues sporadic talks with Harvard about the future of the relationship between the two.

Clendenning will take over for Chamberlin as acting director of communications until the position can be filled permanently, Clendenning said.

And Dunn said yesterday that her duties have filtered down to her former staff in the finance office, with Radcliffe College President Linda S. Wilson assuming supervisory duties over the office.

In other Radcliffe news, an alumnae proposal in the recently released winter issue of the Radcliffe Quarterly called for Radcliffe to be converted into a charitable foundation.

Under the plan, proposed in a letter to the editor by Linda Greenhouse '68, who is a former Crimson editor, Radcliffe's $200 million endowment, along with money obtained by selling its Cambridge property to Harvard, would form the basis for the Radcliffe Foundation for the Advancement of Women.

The foundation would continue to fund Radcliffe's current major interests, including the Bunting Institute and the Murray Research Center. Money from the foundation could be used to fund programs for undergraduate women, long a desire of outspoken alumnae.

The Greenhouse plan offers an alternative to an alumnae proposal by Joy Kahlenberg Fallon '78, Renee Landers '77 and Eaton, in which Radcliffe College would become an institute affiliated with Harvard called the Radcliffe Center for the Advancement of Women.

"What we're trying to do is get as many proposals out there for alumnae to look at as possible," said Radcliffe College Alumnae Association President Jane E. Tewksbury '74.

Eaton said last night that she is wary that a foundation would totally divorce Radcliffe from Harvard.

"I think it's interesting idea. I still think [the Fallon, Landers and Eaton plan] would be more consistent with Radcliffe's mission to figure out a way Radcliffe could be active as part of the broader Harvard community," she said.

College officials have been quick to note that any decision about Radcliffe's future ultimately rests with the college's Board of Trustees and its chairman Nancy-Beth G. Sheerr '71.

"I did not feel recognized for what I brought to the table."  Lyn Chamberlin  Radcliffe's departing director of communications