Calling the M-Bomb
Ms. Bombardieri, are you there? Some people on this board (see below) are trying to get your attention.
A few thoughts on the Bombardieri situation: My impression—and I've never met her, and only talked to her once, briefly, on other subjects—is that the
M-Bomb, as she has now been dubbed, does her best to get as much into the paper regarding Harvard as her editors will allow. It's not her fault that the Globe has become Massachussetts' very own USA Today. Also, she's had the beat for a few years; she may be a little burned-out.
In any event, there's lots to talk about.
First, of course, is the very interesting discussion going on below, which, if I could sum it up, seems to be a debate over Harvard's treatment of women and minority professors, and whether it relegates them to non-tenure track positions. Certainly people at the ed school seem to think so.
Next is the news that the
Af-Am department wants to bring back departed professors Lawrence Bobo and Marcyliena Morgan, who left for Stanford a couple years back when Summers refused to give Morgan a tenured position.
Here's what I understand of that situation. Apparently Skip Gates went to bat with Summers for Morgan, who is a scholar of hip-hop. Summers told him that he didn't think Morgan was a good enough scholar or teacher to merit tenure, but that he wanted to do what he can for Skip, and would work to find a non-tenured position which would allow Morgan to continue teaching at Harvard. But Stanford was beckoning with offers of tenure for both.....Note, though, that
Stanford gave Morgan a tenured position that is not a full professorship.
Someone mentioned that Cornel West had been offered a job; that's not exactly what the Crimson says, and it's not exactly right. For the full story, check out my piece on Derek Bok in the forthcoming issue of
02138 magazine.
Larry Summers deserves his own item, so I'll write that above.....
