Houghton Will Assume Post On Corporation

The University announced yesterday that James R. Houghton '58 has joined the University's highest governing board as a Fellow of Harvard College.

Houghton, the chair and chief executive officer of Corning, Inc., will assume the seat on the Harvard Corporation to be vacated on July 1 by the retirement of Charles P. Slichter '45.

"Jamie Houghton is an outstanding person of seasoned judgement and exceptional insight," President Neil L. Rudenstine said in a statement released yesterday. "He has a great deal of experience serving major cultural institutions, as well as those in the private sector."

Houghton, whose appointment follows a lifetime of service to the University, said in a statement yesterday that he is more than pleased to have been selected for the governing board.

"I feel proud and honored to have been chosen to serve on the Corporation," he said in a press release. "With a deep and lifelong love of Harvard as an institution, I look forward to participating with Neil Rudenstine and others as the University strives to enter the 21st century more vibrant and stronger than ever."

The new Corporation member concentrated in history and lived in Lowell House during his undergraduate years. After receiving his A.B. in 1958, he moved across the river to attend the Harvard Business School.

But life at the Business School wasn't always so easy. Houghton's first-year grades there were so poor that the Business School asked him to take time off to get work experience before returning, according to a recent report in Business Week.

So Houghton worked at Goldman, Sachs & Co. for two years before returning to Harvard for his MBA in 1962.

Two years after leaving Harvard, he joined Corning, which was founded by his great-great-grandfather, and began a long and steady rise that would ultimately lead to his appointment as CEO in 1983.

Houghton worked as the European area manager for Corning from 1964-68.

He was named vice president and general manager of Corning's computer products division in 1968, a post he held until 1971, and was vice chair of its board of directors, with responsibility for international operations for the 12 years after that.

Today, the Houghtons own 15 percent of Corning's stock--worth nearly $1 billion, according to a recent report in Business Week.

In addition to his duties at Corn- ing, Houghton is a director of Dow CorningCorp., Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, J.P.Morgan & Co., Inc. and Exxon Corp. He also servesas a trustee of the Corning Museum of Glass, thePierpont Morgan Library and the MetropolitanMuseum of Art.

He is also a past chair of New York State'sBusiness Council and serves on the Council onForeign Relations, the Business Council and theBusiness Roundtable.

"He will bring to Harvard the importantperspective of someone who has had theresponsibility of guiding a large and complexinstitution, and who has done so in a way that haswon the admiration and respect of people in thiscountry and abroad," Rudenstine said in thestatement. "We are fortunate that he is willing tomake the unusually heavy commitment of time andeffort that membership on the Harvard Corporationinvolves."

Houghton has been treasurer of the Class of1958 for 37 years and has served on visitingcommittees.

Houghton clearly has a lengthy resume ofbusiness experience, but his appointment, coupledwith the imminent departure of Slichter, meansthat no academics from outside Harvard will remainon the University's top governing body by the endof the year.

Indeed, the appointment of Houghton leavesRudenstine and Geyser University Professor HenryRosovsky as the only academics left on theCorporation.

This may upset some faculty members, who haverecently expressed concerns that the University isassuming a more corporate atmosphere.

Houghton currently lives in Corning, N.Y., withMaisie Kinnicutt Houghton '62, his wife of 33years. The Houghtons have two children, JamesHoughton '86 and Nina, who graduated from Stanfordin 1988.

The Corporation, the more powerful of Harvard'stwo governing boards, controls Harvard's basicoperations, particularly fiscal, management andpolicy concerns. It consists of five Fellows, aswell as the treasurer and president of theUniversity.

In addition to Rudenstine and Rosovsky, theCorporation consists of three business executivesand a lawyer: Treasurer D. Ronald Daniel, RobertG. Stone Jr. '45, Richard A. Smith '46 and JudithRichards Hope

He is also a past chair of New York State'sBusiness Council and serves on the Council onForeign Relations, the Business Council and theBusiness Roundtable.

"He will bring to Harvard the importantperspective of someone who has had theresponsibility of guiding a large and complexinstitution, and who has done so in a way that haswon the admiration and respect of people in thiscountry and abroad," Rudenstine said in thestatement. "We are fortunate that he is willing tomake the unusually heavy commitment of time andeffort that membership on the Harvard Corporationinvolves."

Houghton has been treasurer of the Class of1958 for 37 years and has served on visitingcommittees.

Houghton clearly has a lengthy resume ofbusiness experience, but his appointment, coupledwith the imminent departure of Slichter, meansthat no academics from outside Harvard will remainon the University's top governing body by the endof the year.

Indeed, the appointment of Houghton leavesRudenstine and Geyser University Professor HenryRosovsky as the only academics left on theCorporation.

This may upset some faculty members, who haverecently expressed concerns that the University isassuming a more corporate atmosphere.

Houghton currently lives in Corning, N.Y., withMaisie Kinnicutt Houghton '62, his wife of 33years. The Houghtons have two children, JamesHoughton '86 and Nina, who graduated from Stanfordin 1988.

The Corporation, the more powerful of Harvard'stwo governing boards, controls Harvard's basicoperations, particularly fiscal, management andpolicy concerns. It consists of five Fellows, aswell as the treasurer and president of theUniversity.

In addition to Rudenstine and Rosovsky, theCorporation consists of three business executivesand a lawyer: Treasurer D. Ronald Daniel, RobertG. Stone Jr. '45, Richard A. Smith '46 and JudithRichards Hope