{"id":30,"date":"2005-03-07T17:51:36","date_gmt":"2005-03-07T21:51:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/anderkoo\/2005\/03\/07\/harvard-just-keeps-apologizing\/"},"modified":"2011-06-18T23:29:48","modified_gmt":"2011-06-19T03:29:48","slug":"harvard-just-keeps-apologizing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/anderkoo\/2005\/03\/harvard-just-keeps-apologizing\/","title":{"rendered":"Harvard just keeps apologizing"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

I continue to think it ironic that Larry Summers, who had earlier attacked those who
\nsupport divestment from Israel as anti-Semitic, finds himself unable to hide
\nbehind the “academic freedom” flag. (Not that I agree with divestment nor with Summers’ intemperate speech).\n <\/p>\n

\n

        
\n        
\n        
\n        
\n        
\n        
\nMarch 1, 2005<\/p>\n

Dear Alumnae and Alumni,<\/p>\n

        
\nAs you are no doubt aware, there has been considerable public discussion in
\nrecent weeks about gender diversity at Harvard, particularly in the sciences
\nand engineering.  President Summers and I have sought to turn the heightened
\nattention on issues of gender into an opportunity to make concrete progress in
\nthe time ahead.  Towards this end, the President has announced the
\nformation of two task forces, one focused on women in science and engineering,
\nthe other focused on broader issues affecting all women faculty, and has asked
\nthat they develop concrete proposals and recommendations that can be acted upon
\nin the coming months.  I welcome this step, and will work closely with
\nthe task forces to ensure that we succeed in addressing the concerns of the Faculty
\nof Arts and Sciences.  <\/p>\n

        
\nI write today to tell you what we are doing, right now, in the FAS, to address these
\nissues.  I want to look forward, not backward.  I write in
\nthe hope that you will share with me your comments, suggestions, and criticisms
\nas we move ahead.<\/p>\n

        
\nThe Faculty of Arts and Sciences is fully committed to supporting and advancing
\nthe careers of our women faculty, and to encouraging our female students to
\npursue careers in every discipline.  As Dean, and as colleague to so
\nmany outstanding women faculty, I truly believe that the strength of the FAS,
\nand our collective effectiveness as mentors, depend on a faculty that is
\ntalented and diverse.<\/p>\n

        
\nThe FAS is similar to its peer institutions.  We share, and not to our
\nglory, records of less than stellar achievement in recruiting, supporting, and promoting
\nwomen faculty.  Academia has its own long history of discrimination,
\ncomplacency, and even well-meaning, but insufficiently effective efforts at
\ngenuine change.  The institutional temptation for self-reproduction in
\nfaculty hiring is strong. <\/p>\n

         
\nI believe in change; the quality of our collective intellectual endeavor
\ndepends on it.  Not just in the past month, as public debate has
\nswelled, but in the past two years, my colleagues and I have worked hard to
\nchange the policies and the culture of hiring, support, and promotion of
\nfaculty in the FAS. <\/p>\n

         
\nLet me describe the actions we are taking to ensure that we create in the
\nfuture a faculty that is more diverse along many dimensions.  As the
\nlist below indicates, we are instituting policy changes at the departmental, divisional,
\nand decanal levels.  Beyond policy, there are sizable cultural issues
\nto address.   <\/p>\n

        
\nAt the departmental level, we have revised our search procedures to encourage faculty
\nto throw the net far and wide, to keep a “watching brief” for
\ntalent in any field, in every search.  If Harvard seeks the best
\nfaculty, we can only find them through the most thorough and open searches, not
\nby looking only in narrowly-defined subfields.<\/p>\n

        
\nMy colleagues who serve as divisional deans (for Humanities, Social Sciences,
\nand Physical Sciences) and the chair of the Life Sciences Council are
\nmonitoring search procedures at every level.  If a non-tenured search
\nis not sufficiently broad or thorough, we will not authorize the
\nappointment.  They and the larger body of academic deans are reviewing
\nevery tenured search, with the same purpose in mind.  Women scholars
\nwill also serve on every ad hoc<\/i> committee for tenure
\nappointments in the FAS.  <\/p>\n

        
\nI have asked the Academic Deans to review FAS policies in several important areas: 
\nmaternity leave, parental teaching relief, extension of the “tenure
\nclock,” increased support for child care, and related issues. <\/p>\n

        
\nThe FAS already offers strong programs in these areas.  For instance,
\na colleague may be excused from teaching obligations for a semester or a year
\nfollowing the birth or adoption of a child.  Non-tenured colleagues
\nwith substantial parenting responsibilities may delay the “tenure
\nclock” for up to two years.  Even so, we know that the
\ndemands of balancing work and family are great, and we wish to support our
\ncolleagues as much as possible.<\/p>\n

        
\nWe also know that cultural pressures can affect our colleagues’ ability to flourish. 
\nDepartmental attitudes can discourage women and men from “breaking”
\ntheir career trajectory.  In addition to family considerations,
\nnon-tenured faculty deserve other forms of support that will help to make them
\nsuccessful candidates for tenure at Harvard.  Thus, I am asking each
\ndepartment chair to convene a departmental meeting to discuss best practices in
\nthe mentoring and career development of non-tenured colleagues.  We
\naim to create, for the FAS as a whole, practices that are more consistent,
\ntransparent, and respectful – and, within each department, a culture that
\nconveys in every way the stake that we have in seeing our non-tenured
\ncolleagues flourish as teachers, scholars, and citizens of the
\nUniversity.<\/p>\n

        
\nIn the longer run, building a faculty that is diverse as well as strong demands
\nthe rejuvenation of the faculty.  Over nine percent of the FAS are at
\nor beyond the age of 70.  Almost every colleague who retires is male. 
\nAs I announced in my Annual Letter, two-thirds of our growth will occur in the
\nnon-tenured ranks over the next decade, and assistant professorships are now
\nconsidered “tenure-track” positions.  We aim to give
\nevery assistant professor the time, support, and advice she or he will need to
\nbe competitive for tenure at Harvard.  There are many strong
\ninstitutional reasons for hiring more scholars who are just beginning their
\ncareers, but I should note in this context that there is considerably greater
\ndiversity in younger cohorts of applicants.  Thus, last year, even as
\nwe had an unimpressive record in recruiting senior women to tenured positions
\nat Harvard, we were very successful at the non-tenured level:  40 percent
\nof non-tenured appointments last year went to women.<\/p>\n

        
\nLeadership opportunities, not just membership in the Faculty, deserve our
\nserious attention.  I will continue carefully to consider female colleagues
\nfor every department chairmanship, center directorship, and academic deanship. 
\nAt present, 20 percent of our department or degree-committee chairs are
\nwomen.  Thirty percent of tenured colleagues serving as FAS deans and
\nassociate deans are women.  Thirty-nine percent of the Faculty Council
\nmembers are women.  But I also know that service in these positions
\nplaces extraordinary demands on the time of a small number of colleagues, many
\nof whom serve in multiple roles.<\/p>\n

        
\nWe know that we can make progress because we have done it before.  In
\n1988, women represented 14 percent of all assistant, associate, and tenured faculty. 
\nThey now comprise 23 percent.  In 1988, women formed 7 percent of all
\ntenured faculty.  They now form 18 percent.  In 1988,
\nminorities represented 8.7 percent of all assistant, associate, and tenured
\nfaculty, and 6.8 percent of senior faculty.  As of January 1, 2005, 20.2
\npercent of our non-tenured faculty, and 9.2 percent of our senior faculty are
\nmembers of minority groups. <\/p>\n

        
\nTake the case of my own department.  When I joined our History
\nDepartment in 1992, we had one tenured female colleague out of a tenured
\nfaculty of 31.  Less than a decade later, there were 11 tenured women
\nin History.  This did not happen by itself, waiting for applications
\nto fly over the transom.  It was the result of a department determined
\nnot simply to replicate itself, but dedicated to searching aggressively for
\nexcellence in every field.<\/p>\n

           
\nIn recent weeks, I have personally spoken to many faculty members – both current
\nand prospective – to assure them of Harvard’s commitment to diversity in
\ngeneral, and to each of them as individuals.  The measures I describe
\nabove must be part of a larger, ongoing effort, one that is embraced by all of
\nus in the FAS – every faculty member, department chair, and not least, this
\nDean – in our greatest collective interest.  If the FAS strives to be
\nsecond to none, richest in its intellectual resources, keenest in cutting that
\n“edge” of knowledge, we can only do so if our faculty honors
\nthe contributions of all.  In this effort, Harvard should lead, not
\nfollow.<\/p>\n

                                                           
\nYours sincerely,<\/p>\n

                                                           
\nWilliam C. Kirby
\n                                                           
\nDean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences
\n                                                           
\nEdith and Benjamin Geisinger Professor of History <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

(Despite the date on the message, I got this email this afternoon).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I continue to think it ironic that Larry Summers, who had earlier attacked those who support divestment from Israel as anti-Semitic, finds himself unable to hide behind the “academic freedom” flag. (Not that I agree with divestment nor with Summers’ … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":271,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44935],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-massachusetts-boston-cambridge"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/anderkoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/anderkoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/anderkoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/anderkoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/271"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/anderkoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/anderkoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":470,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/anderkoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30\/revisions\/470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/anderkoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/anderkoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/anderkoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}