They are unpaid. On the first and third Monday of every month, they fly from around the country to meet in Loeb House's Cabot Room, where they talk amongst themselves from morning until well after lunch, discussing matters both vital and secret.

The smaller of Harvard's two governing boards--the other is the Overseers--the Corporation has ultimate control over the University's $14.4 billion endowment. Split that among seven people, and it's roughly $2.1 billion apiece. The Corporation is also the final arbiter of major decisions relating to the University's finances, land and management.

Former Corporation member Hugh D. Calkins '45-'49 calls the body "invisible" to most people at Harvard. And they stay that way on purpose, he says.

"We're meant to be a group of very confidential advisors to the President," says Calkins, also a former Crimson president. "We perform that function well by being out of the limelight." Calkins says what happens in Corporation meetings should stay behind closed doors so the president can bring up whatever University topics he thinks are most pressing without fear that they will be published in The Crimson the next morning.

In this way, the Corporation remains behind the scenes--going public about only the most important and controversial University decisions and events.

President Rudenstine acts as a spokesperson for this seven-person elite--of which he himself is a member.

Legal Eagle

According to Harper, becoming the first black member of the Harvard Corporation was merely a matter of being in the right place at the right time.