Kennedy School Grant

To establish a program on technology, public policy and human development, Sidney Harman, undersecretary of commerce and a prominent industrialist donated $600,000 to the Kennedy School of Government, President Bok announced Friday.

The program, which will augment work already underway on the subject at the Kennedy School, aims to study ways of improving working conditions in factories and offices.

Harvey Brooks, Pierce Professor of Technology and Public Policy and a member of the new program's advisory committee, said yesterday the grant will be used "for core support" to integrate ongoing projects with the formal curriculum of the Kennedy School.

It will also provide funds to develop new research and industrial experiments and will provide fellowships for students working in those areas.

In 1972 Harman, then chairman and chief executive of Harman International, developed a project in conjunction with officials of the United Auto Workers at Harman's auto mirror factory in Bolivar, Tenn., which attempted to increase worker participation in the plant's decision-making process.

After the worker democracy began, "People were more interested in their work, more self-reliant," Harman said. He added, "Incidental to a program aimed at human relations, productivity rose dramatically."