At Harvard, It's Like Deja Vu All Over Again
In the Globe, Marcella Bombardieri reports on the anti-Summers letter signed by 24 Harvard professors.
Bombardieri reports that the letter was signed by 17 department chairs and seven former department chairs.
Summers' spokeswoman John Longbrake tells the Globe that Summers sent a quick response. "''He expressed his confidence and support for Dean Kirby, and said he looked forward to continuing to work together."
But Longbrake did not release the text of the letter.
(Incidentally, kudos to Longbrake, whom I'm told is a good guy. He seems to be doing his best to maintain a cordial and open atmosphere between Mass Hall and the press in what must surely be a delicate situation.)
The professors should release the letter...because I'd like to see if there's any language in it ensuring that Kirby will remain as dean. My hunch? That the language it contains is carefully crafted, so that there will be no contradiction when Kirby departs as dean at the end of this school year...
...which I still think will happen. Although he is clearly in a stronger position now than before the Crimson broke the news that Summers had planned to fire him. If he's smart, he'll use this leverage to get a larger golden parachute out of Mass Hall.
(Note to Crimson: How about an article adding up how much Summers' various faculty payouts, severance packages, and controversies have cost the university? You can start with the $1 million donation directed to Skip Gates' DuBois Institute, as reported in Harvard Rules. Perhaps you can make it the fourth part of the your imminent series on Harvard's financial fortunes.)
By the way, multiple sources tell me that Summers offered Kirby's job to Drew Faust, dean of the Radcliffe Institute, during the last school year. Faust declined...but Summers told a number of professors that he planned to make Faust dean of the FAS.
