The
First, here’s the text of the first resolution:
The motion, stating simply that ‘’the Faculty lacks confidence in the leadership” of Summers, passed by a secret ballot vote of 218 to 185, with 18 abstentions.
and the second:
The text of the second motion, introduced by Theda Skocpol, professor of government and sociology, read: “The Faculty regrets the President’s mid-January statements about women in science and the adverse consequences of those statements for individuals and for Harvard; and the Faculty also regrets aspects of the President’s managerial approach as discussed in recent meetings of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. The Faculty appreciates the President’s stated intent to address these issues and seeks to meet the challenges facing Harvard in ways that are collegial and consistent with longstanding faculty responsibilities in institutional governance.”
And, interesting:
Skocpol said some of her colleagues told her they voted for the no-confidence motion but not her resolution because they found it too conciliatory.
An interesting number:
Over 800 people had the right to vote yesterday, according to a Harvard spokesman, but nontenured professors rarely attend faculty meetings or vote at them because their position at the university is less stable.
And, indeed:
Several professors defended the president at the meeting.‘’As someone who went into the academic profession 50 years ago in the days of Senator McCarthy, I said this is very menacing and would set a terrible precedent,” said Stephan Thernstrom, a history professor. ‘’It is a very bad blow to the conception of academic freedom.”
Although, I will note, Summers isn’t a member of the faculty and the issues go beyond those of his utterances. Still, I will agree that the witch-hunt element of this, as linked to his gender comments, shouldn’t be taken place on a university campus.
Also interesting:
Morton Keller, coauthor with his wife, Phyllis, of ‘’Making Harvard Modern: The Rise of America’s University,” said last night that he knew of no vote of no confidence in a Harvard president at least since the Civil War, although he said there had been talk of such a vote against James Bryant Conant in the 1930s, when he fired some popular instructors.
Its a good thing that this post was written entirely in italics.
Now show us pictures of the cat.
Comment by John Lemon — Thursday, March 17, 2024 @ 11:23 pm