By Lawrence Bobo, Contributing Opinion Writer, Harvard Crimson, May 7, 2024.
For many of us faculty members, these past few months have culminated in a series of superlative highs, wrought with a flurry of seemingly endless lows.
We’ve endured the whipsaw experience of the great hopes for Claudine Gay’s presidency, fierce controversy on how to address antisemitism and Islamophobia on campus, the dispiriting political morass of congressional hearings, Gay’s ultimate resignation, and a series of targeted plagiarism charges against high-profile faculty and senior staff, particularly Black women. Even today, we continue to grapple with ongoing student protests against Israel’s conduct in its war on Hamas.
In light of these matters, two constant threads characterize my discussions with faculty in the social sciences and humanities. First, there is an acute sense that Harvard has not put forward an effective narrative about the real tenor and nature of scholarly activity, teaching, or the vibrant character of day-to-day life on campus. And, second, many are profoundly concerned that too many important University decisions emerge without faculty understanding or input.
Faculty have made their message clear: Governance at Harvard must change. I wholeheartedly agree. But I reject the notion that such change should include the formation of a faculty senate….
Read more at the Harvard Crimson