Faculty Debates Citizenship

For nearly two hours yesterday, the Faculty Council debated the issue of reporting outside activities, forcing the rest of the agenda to be pushed aside, said Secretary of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences John R. Marquand.

Council members explored means of requesting more detailed reports of outside activities with members of a four-person task force charged with exploring the issue, Marquand said.

The task force was formed last year after the Corporation requested that departments develop a more thorough system to report faculty members' outside activities.

The request has sparked a broader debate of the issue of citizenship and professorial obligations to the University.

In the 1991 annual dean's report, former acting Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Henry Rosovsky said he observed a marked decline in professorial civic duty and expressed concern about faculty absences during reading and exam periods.

The Council discussed the possibility of sending each department head a copy of the Corporation's original letter and two different models that departments would be able to follow in order to provide the requested information, Marquand said.

One option, Marquand said, would seek only information about whether the faculty member is fulfilling the minimum requirements set by his or her contract. Faculty of Arts and Sciences policy requires that faculty members spend no more than 20 percent of their professional time on compensated activities outside of the University.

The other department responses would include a more detailed list of each faculty member's activities both inside and outside of Harvard.

Departments will not be required to follow the proposed models.

Earlier this year, the four-person task force recommended that each department head develop a set format for faculty members to report their outside activities. Each of these proposals would be submitted to Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles.

But even the question of what constitutes an"outside" activity, Marquand said, is a subject ofcontention.

While many faculty members perform research farfrom Cambridge, some of this research is vital totheir professional careers at Harvard, Marquandsaid, and may not necessarily be interpreted as"outside."

Many faculty members are concerned that theCorporation's stricter supervision of activityreporting may lead to a change in the minimumrequirements, according to Marquand.

Because of the extensive discussions, Marquandsaid, the council is not likely to ask departmentsto respond by this spring, as was originallyprojected. Instead, the deadline for proposal of aplan of action may be closer to next November, hesaid.

"The council and its task force are workinghard to ensure that departments and individualfaculty members have maximum flexibility to reporton their activities as they themselves feelappropriate," Marquand said

But even the question of what constitutes an"outside" activity, Marquand said, is a subject ofcontention.

While many faculty members perform research farfrom Cambridge, some of this research is vital totheir professional careers at Harvard, Marquandsaid, and may not necessarily be interpreted as"outside."

Many faculty members are concerned that theCorporation's stricter supervision of activityreporting may lead to a change in the minimumrequirements, according to Marquand.

Because of the extensive discussions, Marquandsaid, the council is not likely to ask departmentsto respond by this spring, as was originallyprojected. Instead, the deadline for proposal of aplan of action may be closer to next November, hesaid.

"The council and its task force are workinghard to ensure that departments and individualfaculty members have maximum flexibility to reporton their activities as they themselves feelappropriate," Marquand said