Faculty Size Is Increased In Economics

The Economics Department has doubled the size of its junior faculty and halved the teaching load of each member this year in an effort to improve teaching and to attract new Ph.D.'s to Harvard.

The new policy will help upgrade undergraduate teaching by raising quality in the junior faculty, John T. Dunlop, chairman of the department, explained Wednesday. He cited the present staffing of Economics 1 sections as an example: of the 25 sections this year only 6 of the 26 sectionmen were instructors.

Dunlop also pointed out that the present system will help to attract the best new men in the field by offering them more time for research. Their teaching will be better, Dunlop said, because they will have more time for preparation.

The present changes have been going on for the past two or three years under Dunlop's direction, but this year marks the greatest single expansion. The number of assistant professors has been increased from 3 to 14 and the number of instructors from 10 to 12. All of the instructors and assistant professors except one are teaching half-time.

Research Grants

The salary-cut resulting from the decreased teaching time is made up by research grants, which are obtained from the University or from private foundations or government sources.

Two other department chairmen commented yesterday on the advantages of Dunlop's policy for their own departments. Arthur A. Maass, chairman of the Government Department, said that the chief virtue of such a system is its ability to attract new men. As for his own department, Maass feels that a half-time teaching program should not be made a rigid policy at this time.

The Government Department can provide a half-time teaching arrangement for its junior members, Maass said, but many would rather spend more time teaching. Maass also pointed out that it is harder to obtain research grants in the field of political theory than in economics.

Elliot Perkina '23, chairman of the History Department, called the new policy "fruitful and provocative." He said, how ever, it is not feasible for the History Department, since outside grants in history are also difficult to obtain.

Within the Economics Department itself, the response has been enthusiastic. One assistant professor said that the recent changes indicate that "Harvard's on the move again" in the field of economics. Another faculty member said that the new policy is making the department a "seed-bed of research.