And Speaking of Shark-Infested Waters
Larry Summers has just appointed Evelyn Hammonds, an historian of science and African-American studies, to the post of diversity advisor at Harvard. (Technically, the senior vice-provost for diversity.)
As the Boston Globe points out, just nine months ago, Summers declared that there was no need for such a figure at the university. That, of course, changed after his remarks about women's lack of brainpower in matters scientific.
Who is Hammonds? Well, she's a black woman with a B.S. in physics from Spelman College and a B.E.E. in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech. She also has an S.M. in physics from MIT and a Ph.d. in the history of science from Harvard. She's been involved in undergraduate advising at Harvard and served on a task force for women faculty. She's published one book, Childhood's Deadly Scourge: The Campaign to Control Diphtheria in New York City," 1880-1930," and a number of papers usually dealing with race, gender, and science, such as one titled, "Black (W)holes and the Geometry of Female Sexuality." She's now working on a book about the history of race in science and medicine.
I think it is safe to say that, for all sorts of reasons, this is not the kind of professor Larry Summers would have preferred to appoint to a high-ranking position in his administration....
