Full Merger Weeks Away

One day after leaders of Harvard and Radcliffe announced an intent to merge, officials from both sides said yesterday there are few obstacles to making that intent a reality quickly.

President Neil L. Rudenstine said he expects the necessary legal documents to be inked within 30 to 60 days, adding that the only outstanding details are "purely technical."

"Nothing that either Harvard or Radcliffe could see should be a barrier at this point," Rudenstine said. "It's not as if there are substantial issues to be resolved."

Though not a binding legal document, the "intent to merge" agreement that Harvard and Radcliffe signed yesterday ends Radcliffe's status as an undergraduate college and creates a new Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.

Harvard agreed to contribute $150 million to Radcliffe's endowment in exchange for bringing the Institute under the University's umbrella.

Radcliffe President Linda S. Wilson agreed that the next phase of legal negotiations should proceed rapidly. She said the two institutions still need to complete "due diligence," the standard procedure of examining books, contracts, records and other documents before a merger.

"When two organizations get ready to become one, both parties need to understand a lot about how the other has been doing business," Wilson said.

She added that she is confident that Harvard will find Radcliffe's books are "clean."

In the meantime, the two institutions will formally select members of a special advisory committee. The joint team will help Rudenstine choose a permanent dean for the Radcliffe Institute, a process that incoming head of Radcliffe Mary Maples Dunn estimated would take six months to a year.

Though neither side has officially named members to the committee, Radcliffe Board of Trustees Chairman Nancy-Beth G. Sheerr '71 confirmed that she will be one of Radcliffe's representatives on the panel.

Before the union can be completed, attorneys from both institutions must draft the actual document for merger, said Anne H. Taylor, Harvard's vice president and general legal counsel, and a player in the negotiations.

Radcliffe's attorney during the merger talks was Jeffrey F. Jones of the Boston law firm Palmer & Dodge. Jones is a member of the Radcliffe Board of Trustees.

However, Taylor said the final merger agreement should be uncontroversial.

"It's just a matter of getting it done," she said.

Taylor said her "present hope" is that thelegal steps should take on more than three months,barring differences of opinion.

But she said she thinks such a holdup would beunlikely.

"I don't foresee any disagreement--we've talkeda long time and have come to understand eachother," Taylor said.

Many details that do not fall under the broadstrokes of the new Institute's structure, like thefuture of the Radcliffe Union of Students (RUS)and funding for the Radcliffe College AlumnaeAssociation, have not yet been discussed.

"We haven't addressed them yet, but a very goodsolution will be found," Taylor said. "Given theenormous strides we've made so far I'm confidentthose issues will be worked out."

However, leaders of RUS said yesterday thatdespite assurances, they were still afraid that a"very good solution" might be hard to achieve.

"We're very uncertain about the future of ourorganization," RUS Co-President Courtney E. Ellis'00 said

Taylor said her "present hope" is that thelegal steps should take on more than three months,barring differences of opinion.

But she said she thinks such a holdup would beunlikely.

"I don't foresee any disagreement--we've talkeda long time and have come to understand eachother," Taylor said.

Many details that do not fall under the broadstrokes of the new Institute's structure, like thefuture of the Radcliffe Union of Students (RUS)and funding for the Radcliffe College AlumnaeAssociation, have not yet been discussed.

"We haven't addressed them yet, but a very goodsolution will be found," Taylor said. "Given theenormous strides we've made so far I'm confidentthose issues will be worked out."

However, leaders of RUS said yesterday thatdespite assurances, they were still afraid that a"very good solution" might be hard to achieve.

"We're very uncertain about the future of ourorganization," RUS Co-President Courtney E. Ellis'00 said