Harvard Professors Lead National List of Scholarly Citations

When it comes to meaningful research, Harvard is once again at the top.

According to this week's Chronicle of Higher Education, Harvard heads the newsletter Science Watch's list of "high impact" research universities.

The rankings are based on the frequency that the articles of a university's professors are cited in scholarly journals.

While Harvard and other universities across the country tend to dismiss rankings such as those published in US News and World Report, which are partially based on opinion, universities take Science Watch's study seriously.

"This is something to be proud of," said University Spokesperson Alex Huppe.

"This is a different kind of ranking because it's data-based," Huppe said. "It is one measure--and a pretty good measure--of a faculty's significance within scientific circles."

The five-year study was last published in 1992, when Harvard was ranked second to Stanford.

Science Watch tabulators searched for references in journals of 21 fields across the science and social science fields in order to create the ranking.

Harvard also placed first in some of the several independent field categories.

Stanford University and the California Institute of Technology ranked second and third respectively this year.

Some Harvard professors said the University's first-place ranking was not unexpected.

"I'm not terribly surprised at the rankings," said Lindsley Professor of Psychology Sheldon H. White '50.

"Harvard is one of a small number of universities that are able to attract leaders in scientific research and provide resources that will enable them to sustain that leadership," he said.

Professors say the research achievements are attributable to Harvard's superior faculty, not to systems which may provide financial or tenure incentives.

"We do try to bring the best here and help them be as successful as possible," said Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Joseph B. Martin.

But other professors said that while research is important, it should not be the University's sole focus.

"We try to strike a balance between teaching and research," said Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics David R. Nelson. "And it is always gratifying when we do well in one or the other."

Nelson said he is proud of his department's successes in teaching as well as research.

"On the teaching front, I am pleased that the number of physics concentrators at Harvard has been going up in recent years, in contrast to a number of other Universities in the U.S.," Nelson said.