It was the kind of vote that's usually just a formality. But this time, the University made history.

Over a week ago, the Board of Overseers approved the Harvard Corporation's decision to add a black member to its ranks for the first time. Since 1650, when the Corporation began, certain types of people have tended to control its very definite and extensive power. They've been white. They've been wealthy. And until recently, they've been men.

Later this month, when black lawyer Conrad K. Harper walks into a Corporation meeting for the first time, at least one aspect of that power structure will change.

But with such a small group, increasing one form of diversity may mean diminishing another. It may also mean keeping the balance of the Corporation heavily weighted toward the corporate, rather than academic, side.

Gender balances are also in question. Despite the impending loss of one of only two female members, the selection committee did not choose a woman to replace her.

While the Corporation has taken some steps toward changing its historically white, male persona, Harper's selection does not necessarily signal a continued commitment to reform. There is still much progress to be made.

The Corporation

The Fellows of Harvard University, as the seven members of the Corporation are known, are a veritable collection of superlatives. They are the oldest corporation in the Western Hemisphere at the oldest college in the country. They are the most powerful people at the most powerful University--with the most money of any educational institution in the world.