Following are excerpts from President Neil L. Rudenstine's report for 1993-1995:

On Writing the Report:

"During the past two years, we have seen a steady growth in controversy concerning issues of student diversity, university admissions, and affirmative action. Amid this national discussion and debate, specific proposals have been advanced in some quarters to eliminate factors such as race, ethnicity, and gender from consideration in university admissions...."

"We need to remind ourselves that student diversity has, for more than a century, been valued for its capacity to contribute powerfully to the process of learning and to the creation of an effective educational environment. It has also been seen as vital to the education of citizens--and the development of leaders--in heterogeneous democratic societies such as our own."

On President C.C. Felton:

"The nation stood on the verge of the Civil War when Harvard President C.C. Felton presented his report for the academic year 1859-60. In the midst of this national turmoil, he and others saw a need for colleges and universities to provide an education based on experience with different kinds of people, in the hope of overcoming regional, cultural, and other barriers...."

"For Felton, a national university could aspire to have a nationwide influence, helping to 'remove prejudices' and to reduce the possibility of misunderstanding, conflict, and even war. Geography--or place of residence--thus became, from an early date, a critical component in Harvard's concept of diversity."

On President Charles W. Eliot:

"More than any other leading educator of his time, [Eliot] stressed the value of cultivating the diverse talents of every individual, while also emphasizing how diversity among individuals and groups can be a major stimulus to learning.... He regarded diversity as so powerful and far-reaching in its effects--capable of shaping life-long attitudes and habits--that he came to view it as indispensable to the healthy functioning of a democratic society...."

"What was remarkable about Eliot, in retrospect, is that he responded directly to so many of the conflicting educational issues of his era. He analyzed them with unusual clarity and tenacious logic. He was responsive to emerging challenges and changing circumstances. During his tenure, several important barriers were broken--not completely, but nonetheless significantly."

On Eliot's Conception of Race:

"Charles Eliot shared with most of his contemporaries the assumption that there were a number of distinct races, each with its own identifiable characteristics. As has already been suggested, he also believed that the special talents, qualities, and interests of each race should be preserved, insofar as possible.... Nevertheless, he identified race as a positive component of diversity, and defined racial diversity as an element that enhances--rather than diminishes--the vitality and strength of a democratic society."

On W.E.B. Du Bois:

"William James, Josiah Royce, and other teachers made a lasting impression on him. They remained in his memory as examples not simply of scholars, but of individuals and leaders who demonstrated that 'ignorance and particularism and prejudice' could be overcome--in the nation as well as in the university. These direct encounters between a brilliant young African-American and a cadre of progressive New England academics produced living proof for DuBois that people of different races could meet and work on common terms, could respect one another, and could strengthen one another's commitment to the important moral as well as intellectual values essential to serious education."

On President A. Lawrence Lowell: