A Major Appointment

When Paul Buck retired as Provost last year, his departure was regretted in releases, editorials, and tributes--all with one common failing. They proceeded from the assumption that Buck was lost forever to future Harvard administrations. In the unerring logic of retrospect, this pessimism was unwarranted: the new President and Dean were understandably anxious lest Buck's proven capabilities languish. And Mr. Buck, being Mr. Buck, could not refuse an opportunity to serve.

Granting the wisdom in luring Buck back again to the administration, some may be surprised by the nature of his new job. In the retiring librarian, the University has had a professional, a man who, during his years as Director, became nationally respected as an administrator. Mr. Metcalf's retirement left the administration with a major appointment on its hands. Yet few will quarrel with the new choice.

In accepting the appointment, Buck rejoins those men willing to sacrifice scholarship and teaching because they see more in University administration than the pruning of budgets and the scheduling of lecture halls. Mr. Buck has not had the benefit of a librarian's education to prepare him for the new position. He had, as Provost, conferred regularly with librarians about all problems, from financing to cataloguing. The job will be new to him but it will not be strange.

More than anything else, however, the appointment is another instance of a current, and we think, laudable trend. The President has made many addresses during the past year but his ideas are not packed away after the final applause. His speeches have been prefaces to deed, not ends in themselves.

When Mr. Pusey told freshmen last year that they were here to read books not burn them, it was more than an allusion to the overseas government bonfires. He went on to sum up his own views on the Harvard libraries and their importance, and yesterday's appointment punctuates his genuine concern. The Divinity School's rebirth, the touted low pressure of Harvard athletics, the unflinching policy of the Administration on Communism charges are other evidences of statements which were followed up with achievement. This is, of course, no cause for wonderment; one expects as much from the Administration. Still, there are occasions when it is permissable to express general satisfaction and Mr. Buck's appointment is such an occasion.