A Critical Mass
Political scientist Michael Dawson's departure from Harvard is being widely covered. I've seen stories on
CNN.com and in the
Boston Globe, the
Boston Herald, the
Chicago Sun-Times,
Reuters, and the
Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Typical headline: "Troubled Harvard Loses Another Faculty Member."
Typical quote from Dawson: "The research environment has changed since I first accepted the offer to Harvard,'' said Dawson, who added personal reasons also influenced his decision. ``I thought I would be able to work with, among others, [departed black scholars] Cornel West, Anthony Appiah, Lawrence Bobo and Marcyliena Morgan.''
The departure of a professor from Harvard—especially one who's relatively unknown—would not ordinarily be a subject for mainstream journalism. But the problems at Harvard have achieved a kind of critical mass in the public arena, so that every new development is covered as part of a larger and ongoing drama. This can not be good for the university.
