Radcliffe Trust Decides Representation, Grant Award Policies

Members of the Ann Radcliffe Trust, meeting yesterday for the last time this semester, decided the Trust will guarantee representation on its student-Faculty committee to certain key student groups.

Committee members continued to discuss how Trust representatives will be chosen in the future, and they approved a final draft of the grant application for Trust funds.

A Faculty endorsement will be required of all groups applying to the Trust for funding.

This is a sharp departure from the precedent set by the Radcliffe Union of Students (RUS), which was funded by a $5 fee charged to all female undergraduates and made grant decisions without Faculty involvement.

"If something is flaky enough where students are reluctant to approach a Faculty member...then why would we institutionally support it?" said Harry R. Lewis '68, dean of Harvard College.

But some on the committee objected to the additional requirement for student groups looking for funds.

"It's not the right kind of hurdle people should go over," said David B. Orr '01.

Decisions about representation on the Trust and the grants process are important indicators of how the Trust will function in the future. The group--which is effectively replacing RUS as a funding source--will have nearly $20,000 to dole out next year to student groups with an interest in women's issues.

Some students criticized Karen E. Avery '87, associate dean of the College and head of the Trust after she personally selected the student representatives for the Trust committee this winter.

Currently, 17 undergraduates and nine Faculty members serve on the committee, and although no formal decision was made yesterday, the group advocated an open, competitive application process for students interested in serving on the committee in the future.

Avery and Julia G. Fox, director of the Parents Association and a member of the Trust committee, would likely read the applications and make the final selections for slots on the student-Faculty committee.

Applicants would not have to be affiliated with any particular women's group on campus, but they must have a demonstrated interest in "raising awareness of women, women's leadership and women's issues at Harvard," the Trust's focus.

Lewis said he would work to recruit Faculty members to serve on the committee as well.

Some committee members said yesterday they would like to see applications circulated internally in groups that have permanent representation on the Trust committee, to help the groups pick their representatives to the Trust.

Women in Science at Harvard and Radcliffe (WISHR) would likely have a permanent slot, as would RUS, when and if the group registers with the College as a recognized student group. But no decision has been made about which groups will have permanent positions.

Lewis questioned whether the Harvard Foundation should have a permanent slot on the committee, disputing the "relevancy" of the Foundation to the Trust's mission.

The committee did not reach a consensus yesterday about how to involve first-years in the Trust, but it made plans to speak with the Freshman Dean's Office about possibilities.