Miller's On-Line Courses Spark Review of Policy

Prominent Harvard Law School Professor Arthur R. Miller's taped lectures for an on-line university may run afoul of University rules for faculty, the law school dean said yesterday.

Miller recorded lectures for the Web-based Concord University School of Law in June--a move that has triggered a review of University policy in light of new technologies.

Harvard Law School (HLS) Dean Robert C. Clark said he sees Miller's activities as a violation of Harvard's conflict rules for faculty, which state that a full-time faculty member's primary professional loyalty should be to the University.

"We want priority to be basically working for one master--we don't want to have a split appointment with another university," Clark said.

Clark is now in confidential discussions with Miller about this presumed conflict. He did not say what the consequences might be if it is decided that Miller has, in fact, violated policy.

According to a 1962 University policy, Harvard faculty wishing to work at other educational institutions must first have the permission of the dean of the Harvard school, as well as the permission of the Harvard Corporation.

Clark said Miller got neither.

"The real fact is he didn't know about this stipulation, so he didn't talk to me in advance," Clark said.

Harvard policy also says no more than 20 percent of a faculty member's "professional effort" can go to outside ventures.

But Miller said his lectures for Concord are no different than several other creative learning projects he has been involved in throughout his career.

"For over 30 years, I have produced educational material in every medium I can think about," Miller said. "I am known as a person who embraces new opportunities for communication--that has been my life."

Miller said he thinks the University is upset that his lectures are being used for distance learning.

"The Yale Law School may have my teaching materials in their library--what the hell is the difference?" Miller said.

But Harvard Provost Harvey V. Fineberg '67 said the University is open to new learning techniques and has "done a lot, at different stages, to cooperate and extend its reach in other directions."

According to Fineberg, he is currently reviewing the University's conflict of interest guidelines in cooperation with Harvard's deans, University President Neil L. Rudenstine and members of the Corporation.

"I hope the new updates will clarify the applicability of these guidelines to contemporary situations," he said. "It remains to be seen how powerfully different media will play out for education--pen and paper aren't that bad either."

Fineberg cited a few examples of Harvard's attempts to make the University more accessible to students across Boston, including the Harvard Extension School.

In terms of his own case, Miller said his involvement with Concord was not great enough to constitute a conflict of interest. The "teaching" only involved 10 hours of videotaping. Since then, he said he only "episodically" calls his colleagues there.

"I do not know why Harvard is so uptight about a fledgling institution," he said, adding that he sees Concord bringing education to students who cannot easily access it.

But Clark said Concord University's Web site made him question Miller's involvement with the institution.

"They are projecting him somehow as a teacher during the year," Clark said.

Miller is not an official faculty member of the school, according to Andrea E. Wilson '91, a spokesperson for Concord.

"It's really just a matter of nomenclature," Wilson said. "When Professor Miller joined us, it was as a member of the Board of Faculty Advisors. We changed that to be Board of Advisors in April at Professor Miller's request."

Wilson said that although members of the Board of Advisors contribute lectures, none are considered faculty members.

And a Concord press release said members of the Board of Advisors "guide instruction."

"He has not had regular contact with students," Wilson said. "Students in our courses have regular contact with other faculty members via e-mail, phone, and regular synchronous on-line sessions," she added.

In an interview with The Crimson, Fineberg drew an analogy to a Harvard professor teaching at MIT.

"If Arthur Miller is teaching at another university, then that, on the face of it, is contradictory to the rules," Fineberg said.