Law School May Tenure Ferguson

The Law School faculty has approved the permanent appointment of C. Clyde Ferguson, visiting professor of Law, who would be the third black member of the Law School faculty, a vice dean of the Law School said yesterday.

Although Ferguson's tenure may not come up at the Corporation meeting tomorrow, "normal procedures" would not halt his approval by that body, George Putnam '43, treasurer of the College, said yesterday.

William L. Bruce '46, the vice dean, described Ferguson's appointment as being in the "general realm" of possibility, adding he thought the appointment would be "super."

Pro Forma

Tenure appointments must be approved by the faculty, then recommended by the president to the Corporation and passed to the Board of Overseers.

Ferguson, who had previously rejected several offers from President Carter's staff so he could continue his writing and teaching here, could not be reached yesterday for comment.

The former ambassador to Uganda wrote position papers on South Africa for the Carter campaign. He teaches courses on civil procedure and human rights and international law here.

Derrick A. Bell Jr., professor of Law, said yesterday he would be "delighted" with the appointment, adding he saw no trend towards hiring more minority faculty members in the offing.

"My concern is that the law faculty is hiring people who are over-qualified for the job," Bell, who is black, said, adding he favored bringing in young minority people to the Law School faculty.

Jerome Cohen '57, associate dean of the Law School, said yesterday the Law School "needs Ferguson very badly. He's a very humane, attractive person, a very good scholar. His courses have been very well received," he added