By Debra Bradley Ruder

Gazette Staff

The budget of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences has stabilized, and the FAS is poised to strengthen itself through the priorities set in its academic plan.

That's the message that FAS Dean Jeremy Knowles conveyed to faculty members on Tuesday as he presented his annual state-of-the-Faculty letter.

"The horrifying, spiraling deficits [of five or six years ago] are essentially under control, and the budget is now at or near equilibrium," Knowles reported.

The Campaign is now beginning to yield funds that can be used to bolster the academic goals of the Faculty, according to Knowles.

Thanks to the fund drive, the renovation of Memorial Hall is finished, the Barker Center for the humanities is nearing completion, planning for the Maxell-Dworkin building for computer science and electrical engineering has begun, and planning for the Knafel Center for Government and International Studies will soon commence. Construction of the new racquet facility is expected to begin this spring, and renovations to Boylston Hall are scheduled for the fall.

Knowles urged the Faculty to "keep its collective chin high" as it pursues the academic priorities determined five years ago. The FAS academic plan calls for 40 new faculty positions, faculty research support, development and preservation of the library collections, and advances in information technology, among other needs.

"Our academic plan has two overarching goals: to improve the quality of the education of our undergraduates and graduate students, and to support the scholarly work of our colleagues," Knowles said.

The Dean's letter is reasonably upbeat about the finances of the FAS, which has an overall budget of roughly $521 million.

"The Faculty of Arts and Sciences completed FY 96 [the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 1996] in relatively good financial health," Knowles wrote. Although the Faculty reported a central budget deficit of just over $1 million, that figure is down from a high of $12 million in 1990. However, it is almost double last year's operating deficit of about $530,000.

Knowles said he is less concerned about the shortfall than he is about such continuing problems as high tuition, declining government support for research and graduate study, and rising demands for information technology.

For example, the Faculty has lowered the tuition rate increase every year for the past five years, despite the soaring cost of financial aid. "The financial aid budget rises faster than tuition, but it is obvious that the increases in tuition must be brought closer to the growth in the ability of families to pay," he wrote.

Furthermore, the indirect costs of research paid to the Faculty by the federal government fell by nearly 6 percent in fiscal year 1996, representing a loss of more than $700,000.

The 20-page letter highlights recent developments in such areas as the College, the Graduate School, and the Division of Continuing Education. Among the highlights:

* Undergraduate Life: The Class of 2000 was chosen from an unprecedented pool of 18,183 applicants, and nearly 80 percent of those accepted chose to come. Two-thirds of undergraduates receive some form of financial aid, and "There is no doubt that our scrupulous adherence to a 'need-blind' admissions policy and the 'need-based' support of all students who enroll, results in the continuing strength of the entering classes."

The new system for assigning students to residential Houses, commonly called "randomization," has helped create a better cross-section of students in the Houses, "and the sense of each House as a microcosm of the College is becoming a reality."

* Curriculum: The committee examining the Core Program has solicited the views of faculty, students, and recent alumni/ae, and it hopes to circulate preliminary proposals for Faculty discussion this spring.

Meanwhile, various FAS offices are examining the $16 million spent annually on teaching fellows, teaching assistants, and other instructors to ensure that money is used to optimize the classroom experience of undergraduates and to provide greater support for graduate students. "On the one hand, we should like to reduce the size of the average class section, and on the other, to guarantee teaching opportunities" for graduate students.

* Graduate School: Applications to the GSAS declined slightly in 1996, paralleling the national trend. "Most departments have adopted the strategy of admitting a slightly smaller class of students so as to concentrate recruitment efforts and financial resources on the very best applicants." Graduate admission has become increasingly challenging because of the need to provide competitive, multi-year offers in the face of fewer and smaller outside fellowships. Harvard's overall yield of 56 percent remained the highest of its peer graduate institutions.

A two-year-old program of interdisciplinary faculty-student research workshops in the social sciences and humanities is "one of the most successful innovations in our graduate programs." By the spring of 1996, 47 workshops had been supported, involving 125 faculty and more than 500 students.

* Continuing Education: Under the 20-year leadership of Dean Michael Shinagel, the Division of Continuing Education has enhanced its programs, course offerings, and reputation. The number of students enrolled has more than doubled, to almost 13,000, and the number of students in the Summer School has nearly doubled, to about 5,000. The Division expands the learning and career opportunities of Harvard's neighbors, students, faculty, and staff, and it continues to enjoy "robust financial health."

* Faculty: One-third of the FAS tenured appointments over the past five years have been made by promotion from the junior ranks, up from 29 percent in the previous five years. One consequence of this change is a larger share of tenured women in the Faculty, since there is a higher proportion of women in the junior ranks. Overall, 24 percent of all tenured appointments made over the past five years have been of women, compared with 15 percent during the academic years 1986 to 1991.

* Staff: Planning will soon begin for the implementation of Project ADAPT, the University's overhaul of financial and personnel data systems. The project will free FAS staff to help with the core work of departments: the support of teaching and research.

The FAS continues to search for ways to contain personnel costs without compromising the quality of service, and it is examining "outsourcing" of some support functions.

In addition, the Police Department and security guard units covering the College will join in a team-based approach to improve safety in the Houses and freshman dormitories.

* Campaign: As of Dec. 31, the FAS had raised $642 million, or nearly 67 percent of its $965 million goal. In 1996, $190 million was raised; generous donors included Bill Gates '77 and Steve Ballmer '77 for computer science and electrical engineering, Sid Knafel '52 for government and international studies, and Tom Lee '65 for financial aid and life sciences. (The Campaign is part of the University's $2.1 billion fundraising effort.)

However, the second half of the Campaign will be more challenging, and two-thirds of the money raised has either not yet been paid, will come as deferred gifts, or has been given for current use or for major projects. The flow of gifts has been disappointing in some areas such as the Library, despite its centrality to the teaching and scholarship of the Faculty.

To involve more women in the Campaign as volunteers and donors, Knowles has formed a task force of 40 alumnae to seek advice on how best to link women graduates to the life of the College.

* Information Technology: Substantial investments were made in the computer network in 1995-96, but more are needed. According to a recent report, "the [information technology] appetites of 6,500 undergraduates, 2,500 graduate students, 1,000 faculty, 500 postdoctoral students and visiting scholars, and 2,000 staff, are enormous and varied." Commented Knowles, "Meeting the hopes and expectations of 14,000 diverse, dispersed, and demanding users (several thousand of whom change their location each year) will continue to pose . . . challenges."

Copies of the Dean's letter are available through the Office of the Dean, 5 University Hall.