The Departmental action represented an initiative by members of the Government Department to persuade him to return at his convenience. Huntington said last night, "I don't know if it's a precedent. I don't know of any case in recent years in which this sequence has been followed."

The White House also releasedSaturday the text of a letter from Nixon to Kissinger.

"The intensity of both your devotion to scholarship and your affection for Harvard are well-known to your friends and associates," the letter said, adding, "I am grateful for what you have done and I am grateful that you are staying."

Kissinger said yesterday that he resigned "with enormous regret," adding, "Harvard meant a great deal to me."

He would not comment on the Government Department's action. "This is a matter for the Government Department and I would not know. I just resigned," he said.

"If I return to academic life, as I intend to, then I would certainly always be pleased to be at Harvard," he said.