Harvard University President meets with black scholars to mend rift there

Jet, Jan 21, 2002

Harvard University President Lawrence Summers recently met with two of the school's senior Black scholars after reports they were considering leaving for Princeton University over frustrations with his leadership.

Summers met with Harvard professors Dr. Cornel West and Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr., chairman of the Afro-American Studies Department, and spoke by telephone to professor Dr. William Julius Wilson.

In a statement from Summers, he pledged his commitment to diversity by saying, "With regard to the Afro-American studies program at Harvard, we are proud of this program collectively and of each of its individual members. We would very much like to see the current faculty stay at Harvard and will compete vigorously to make this an attractive environment."

Several faculty members said the professors were considering leaving for Princeton after what they said were a series of snubs by Summers, as well as what was considered to be his failure to make a strong statement in support of affirmative action.

Dr. West had felt particularly aggrieved after a private meeting with Summers, at which Summers reportedly criticized him for making a rap CD and for perceived grade inflation in his classes, and reportedly questioned his scholarship.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson demanded a meeting with Summers to discuss Harvard's commitment to diversity. President Summers has agreed to meet with Jackson, though no date has been set at JET press time.

The Rev. Al Sharpton also threatened to sue after Summers allegedly criticized West for agreeing to head an exploratory committee for Sharpton's possible presidential run in 2004. Summers has denied making the remark.

Summers, a former U.S. Treasury Secretary, replaced Neil Rudenstine as president last year. Rudenstine created the Afro-American Studies Department by luring Gates from Duke University. Gates then filled the department with renowned Black scholars which he referred to as a "dream team."

Harvard Law Professor Charles Ogletree, who has been representing West, reported that he was "very happy with the way things have developed." Commenting on Summer's recent statement, he said, "It meets the objectives that many people had set forth--it's strong, it's clear, it's unequivocal."

Dr. William Julius Wilson, a Harvard professor of social policy, was quoted in the New York Times as saying: "The new president is clearly reaching out, and I think that these problems are going to be resolved. He admits there has been a problem of communication, and to his credit he is trying to correct a previous mistake and misjudgment and thereby affirm a strong commitment to issues relating to diversity and affirmative action. That's encouraging."