Dean Clark tried to talk them out of it.

When Dean Clark looks back on the years with his grandfather and father, he said, he remembers a lot of good times.

"I don't think law school deans as a group ought to set the terms of evaluations," Dean Clark said.

"We had a very cordial visit with a good exchange of views," Dean Clark said in a brief statement after their 25-minute meeting.

Dean Clark has repeatedly insisted that Harvard is making a serious effort to recruit a black female professor.

Dean Clark said, "The important thing about having the chair is that it's perpetual."

Dean Clark could not be reached for comment; his office said he was out of the country.

Dean Clark has, in fact, asked the organization to hold its large parties on campus, but the Inn seems disinclined.

"He recognized the importance of education in his own life, and his response was noble," Dean Clark said.

He resigned during the 1996-97 season and was replaced by Dean Clark.