Radcliffe Alumnae Skeptical Of Final Deal

As Harvard and Radcliffe prepare to sign a final merger document this month, leaders of the Radcliffe College Alumnae Association (RCAA) are taking a "wait and see" approach to the deal, which omits any mention of the alumnae organization.

Although negotiators have attempted to address issues important to Radcliffe graduates, the silence on RCAA leaves some uneasy.

"As it is, it seemed to be very vague and left a lot to the imagination, I think deliberately on some people's parts," said RCAA Second Vice President Diana E. Post '67.

"I would have been happier probably with a more detailed set of rules and regulations that I haven't really seen yet," Post added.

Alums who are not in the RCAA leadership are even less informed about the deal, they said.

"I have not heard any details," said Carol F. Lieberman '61, president of the Radcliffe Club of Boston. "I have heard nothing about where it's going or what's happening and, to my knowledge, neither has anybody else."

Still, RCAA President A'Lelia P. Bundles '74 said she is "optimistic" about the final merger agreement, but added that the alumnae's fears are not entirely placated.

"The proof will be in the pudding," Bundles said. "We have to see what the Radcliffe Institute is really going to be... It'll be a very difficult balance to strike, and if they don't strike it, it will be very hard to raise money."

Although the document makes no mention of the RCAA, Mary Maples Dunn, interim president of Radcliffe College, has assured RCAA leaders she will continue funding the alumnae association. However, Dunn has not yet announced how funding levels will compare to those in past years.

Historically RCAA has been a line item in the Radcliffe College budget. The association sponsors speakers, conferences and programs for graduates, as well as assisting with reunions. In the past it has taken a more activist stance than the Harvard Alumni Association, with RCAA leaders using their platform to lobby both Radcliffe and Harvard on behalf of undergraduate women.

Dunn says Radcliffe has tried to keep alumnae's concerns in mind.

"I've tried to give the RCAA assurances that the Institute will continue to support them," Dunn said. "We need their moral support to give us the credibility we need in the community of women."

Bundles said she trusts Dunn to keep the alumnae association's interests in mind.

"I love the fact that she is a straight-shooter...and that she has a real appreciation for the value of alums," Bundles said.

But as interim leader of Radcliffe, Dunn's tenure will be brief--no more than a year or two, she has estimated.

"Who this new dean is going to be is really key," Bundles said.

And other alumnae said that despite Dunn's goodwill, they are not reassured by those promises.

"I'm troubled by the continued uncertainty as to the continuation and funding of the RCAA," said Janet C. Corcoran '79, an RCAA regional director.

Corcoran said that abstract principles are no substitute for concrete clauses in the merger document.

"What's concerned me all along in how those negotiations took place is that the devil is always in the details," she said.

Some alumnae may reserve their backing until those specifics emerge.

"If you're asking, do we support [the merger], I can't tell you until I know in all of its ramifications what it is I'm supposed to be supporting," Lieberman said.

Post said funding is not the only concern that has not been formally addressed by the merger document.

"We have issues about membership... about [whether] we will still exist and will have the freedom we have had in the past to deal with issues," she said.

While they are concerned about RCAA, alumnae leaders said other details negotiated this summer are more appealing.

RCAA leaders praised the decision to bar Harvard from soliciting money from women who graduated from Radcliffe before 1976, a group that had previously been reserved for Radcliffe College.

Post said that arrangement will allow the new Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study a base on which to build.

"It's a drop in the bucket for Harvard, and it gives the new Institute a chance to start with something because it has no alums of its own," she said.

Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles said that RCAA leaders will still have an opportunity to advocate on behalf of female students.

"I hope that the members of RCAA will see their future in supporting the goals of the Institute," Knowles said. "If there are those who wish to support women undergraduates, they can of course do so through Harvard College."

Bundles said that alumnae would continue to be vigilant on that front.

"A lot of people are going to be watching to see what kind of commitment Harvard makes," she said. "I'm a 47-year-old woman who has worked in corporate America for 25 years, and I know that as much as I have been successful, that the playing field is not level. And the playing field is not level in the classrooms at Harvard, and I know people don't always like to hear that."