The appointment of Don K. Price, Jr., vice-President of the Ford Foundation, as Dean of the Graduate School of Public Administration has been passed by the Board of Overseers, it was officially announced yesterday. Price succeeds Edward S. Mason, George Baker Professor of Economics, who will retire on June 30 to devote more time to teaching and research.

In announcing the appointment, President Pusey said, "Harvard is fortunate to be able to enlist the talents, energy and experience of Don K. Price, Jr., who inherits from Dean Mason a solid record of accomplishment in the important field of public policy."

Price will continue for a time to assist the Ford Foundation, for which he has worked since 1953. Previously, he was a Lecturer on Political Science at the University of Chicago, and he has held active government posts with the U.S. Budget Bureau and the Department of Defense.