Sociology Prof Tenured, May Accept UCLA Post

President Bok approved the tenure bid of a junior professor in the Sociology Department two weeks ago, but the scholar said yesterday that he is not sure whether he will accept the lifetime post.

Loeb Associate Professor of Sociology Andrew G. Walder said his decision hinges on what incentives the administration is willing to offer his wife, Jean C. Oi, who is currently an associate professor of government. The University of California at Los Angeles has extended tenure offers to both Walder and Oi.

If Walder accepts the Harvard post, he will be the first junior professor tenured from within the department's ranks in at least six years. Walder, a specialist on contemporary Chinese society, has written two books, the most recent of which is a study of Chinese workers and industrial life in china.

Professors said yesterday that the dilemma for Walder and Oi is a classic example of the challenges in faculty recruiting that Harvard and other universities now face as the number of two-career families in academia increases. These professors add that Harvard's response to this case will make clear how responsive the University intends to be to the needs of such couples.

Walder said he will meet with Dean of the Faculty A. Michael Spence this week to discuss whether he will accept the lifetime post here. "Although I would like to stay, there are a lot of serious issues to be worked out with Spence," Walder said.

In the past, Spence has noted the problems thattwo-career marriages pose for faculty recruiting,writing in a widely publicized report releasedfour years ago that Harvard must make an effort torecognize the issues posed by recruiting outsidescholars whose spouses would also need to findjobs in the area.

'Spence Has Ammunition'

Sociology Department Chair Aage B. Sorensensaid "most of the ammunition" for convincingWalder to remain at Harvard will have to come fromSpence, who controls such benefits as salaries andmortgage programs. But Sorensen, who said Walderhad been a very strong candidate for tenure, addedthat he would do what he could to lobby thescholar to remain.

Sorensen said that the ad hoccommittee--composed of several outside scholarsand Harvard professors--that advised Bok on theWalder appointment had very little debate over thejunior professor's qualifications.

Oi said she is negotiating with GovernmentDepartment Chair Robert D. Keohane about thepossibility of speeding up her Harvard tenurereview. "My sense is that the GovernmentDepartment is trying to make it possible, or atleast more attractive, for me to stay here," shesaid.

And Oi said she is seriously consideringremaining at Harvard, despite the lifetime postshe has been offered at UCLA. "I have been quitehappy here," she said. "And that is why I amseriously weighing giving up a tenure offer."

Walder and Oi met in graduate school, and bothstudy aspects of contemporary politics and societyin China. Walder said their experiences closelyparallel those of many young scholars.

For several years, the couple had a commutermarriage, with Walder teaching sociology atColumbia and Oi holding a post in politicalscience at Lehigh College in Pennsylvania. Oispent her weekdays in Pennsylvania, and returnedto New York on the weekends.

Walder said they decided to come to Harvardabout two years ago as junior professors primarilybecause they were expecting a child and wereanxious to end their commuter status.

"While I think [Walder] likes it here, he alsohas a unique opportunity to spend the rest of hislife with his wife in sunny Southern California,"said Sorensen. "It's a kind of typical dual-careerproblem.