"He went to more Faculty meetings than most Faculty do," she said. "And people didn't flinch."

"Harvard has a very good policy," agreed Franklin, who has a three-and-a-half year old son.

"It's good compared to some places," she says upon reflection. "It's not good compared to Sweden," she jokes.

Very few people batted an eye when they saw Franklin, with briefcase and child in arm.

"Only a few complete idiots say stupid things," she says.

"The worst thing that happened were the few times I had to teach classes with my son in my arms," Franklin says. "Students get a kick out of it--the first time."

Elizabeth Doherty, who is an assistant dean of the Faculty, says she is gratified that Harvard doesn't always force women to choose between their career and their family.

"It seems to me that one of the virtues of academic environments is that one is able to integrate work and family life," she said. Though maternity leaves and child-rearing have sometimes been cited as the reasons why more women aren't tenured, Seltzer has a theory of her own.