Under Attack, Summers Vows To Compete To Keep Afro-American Studies Faculty

University President Lawrence H. Summers today issued his first direct response to reports that his handling of the Afro-American Studies department has prompted some of its most famous members to consider relocating.

The department, widely considered the nation’s best, was a pet project of Summers’ predecessor, Neil L. Rudenstine. Over the past couple of weeks, national media attention has focused on a dispute between Summers and Fletcher University Professor Cornel R. West ’74, who is reported to be considering a return to Princeton University.

“With regard to the Afro-American Studies program at Harvard, we are proud of this program collectively and of each of its individual members. We would very much like to see the current faculty stay at Harvard and will compete vigorously to make this an attractive environment,” Summers said in a statement issued to The Crimson (full text below).

Reports in The New York Times and The Boston Globe say department professors take issue with Summers’ lack of endorsement of affirmative action—something Rudenstine strongly promoted. Summers’ statement indirectly responds to this.

Citing the University’s “longstanding commitment to diversity,” Summers vowed to “maintain that commitment.”

“Our approach to admissions, cited as a model in the nation’s highest court, advances our compelling interest in racial and other forms of diversity,” he said.

With today’s statement Summers tried to patch up what is turning into something of a public relations debacle for the University and its new president.

The main point of contention: a meeting with West in which Summers is reported to have abrasively discussed such issues as the prevalence of grade inflation and West’s use of his time away from Harvard last year. Last year, West was on a medical leave of absence during which he also recorded a rap album. In addition, he is heading up an exploratory committee for prospective presidential candidate the Rev. Al Sharpton.

West was unavailable for comment.

Climenko Professor of Law Charles J. Ogletree, Jr., who is representing West in this matter, expressed his approval of Summers’ statement in an interview today with The Crimson.

“It meets the objectives that many people had set forth—it’s strong, it’s clear, it’s unequivocal,” Ogletree said today in an interview with The Crimson.

“We have made incredible progress with President Summers, and I am very happy with the way things have developed,” Ogletree said.

Summers does not address the meeting with West in his statement, but the Globe story quotes him saying, “It’s a very unfortunate misunderstanding if my views have been perceived in other ways.”

According to the Times and Globe reports, another department bigwig, Professor of Afro-American Studies and Philosophy K. Anthony Appiah, is also being courted by Princeton University.

In an interview with The Crimson prior to the release of Summers’ statement, Appiah said he felt the accusation that Summers was not in favor of affirmative action was untrue. He also said he had not considered leaving Harvard and denied that he had an offer from Princeton.

“I have had...very good conversations with him,” Appiah said. “In one conversation, he made it plain that he was very much hoping that I wouldn’t go. He hasn’t done anything to push me out—if that’s what you’ve heard, it’s not true.”

Appiah also said that while he did visit Princeton recently, he did not visit with West, and that the visit was not for the purpose of discussing a possible move.

“I had dinner with the provost of Princeton [Amy Gutmann] who is a good friend of mine, and I wrote a book with her, so that’s not too surprising,” Appiah said.

The national media spotlight focused on the tension between Summers and the Afro-American Studies department drew the Rev. Jesse Jackson to Cambridge Tuesday. Jackson held a press conference at St. Paul’s A.M.E Church in which he expressed his concern over what he said was Summers’ inadequate support for affirmative action.

But Jackson praised today’s statement.

“That certainly is a positive statement, and it is hopeful because...[Summers] is building bridges where there has been some fracture,” Jackson said in an interview with The Crimson.

But Jackson said he would also like to see Summers meet with West to personally smooth over the tensions between the two men, and he would like to see Summers meet with department head and DuBois Professor of the Humanities Henry Louis “Skip” Gates Jr. to further discuss the issue of “academic freedom and freedom of association.”

Jackson also called for Harvard to host a national conference on its campus on affirmative action and issues related to diversity in education.

“Harvard must be a beacon of light for the nation, not a shadow of doubt,” Jackson said in an interview with The Crimson following Tuesday’s press conference.

—Juliet J. Chung, Lauren R. Dorgan and David H. Gellis contributed to the reporting of this article.

—Staff writer Kate L. Rakoczy can be reached at rakoczy@fas.harvard.edu.

The entire text of Summers' statement:

To the Harvard Crimson:

A number of questions have been asked in recent days about the University's position and my own views on diversity. I thought a brief statement might be helpful in this regard.

I take pride in Harvard's longstanding commitment to diversity. I believe it is essential for us to maintain that commitment, working to create an ever more open and inclusive environment that draws on the widest possible range of talents.

Our approach to admissions, cited as a model in the nation's highest court, advances our compelling interest in racial and other forms of diversity. Diversity contributes to educational excellence by enabling outstanding students, faculty, and staff of all backgrounds to come together and learn from one another. I look forward to working with colleagues at Harvard and elsewhere to promote ever greater opportunity for all.

With regard to the Afro-American Studies program at Harvard, we are proud of this program collectively and of each of its individual members. We would very much like to see the current faculty stay at Harvard and will compete vigorously to make this an attractive environment.

Lawrence H. Summers

President, Harvard University

January 2, 2002