The Crimson reports that Professor J. Lorand Matory is leaving Harvard for Duke.

An anthropologist, Matory was one of Larry Summers’ most vocal critics, and also an outspoken critic of Israel whose pro-Palestinian opinions rubbed some people the wrong way.

“I think it’s the best thing that’s happened to Harvard in a long time,” [Alan Dershowitz] said in a phone interview yesterday. “

Given how Harvard generally responds to attempts by other universities to poach their professors—and given the University’s sensitivity to the paucity of African-Americans on its faculty—Matory (who is black) can rightly consider it a diss that Harvard did not attempt to compete with Duke’s bid.

Matory said that Harvard did not respond to Duke’s offer with a comparable position or salary.

“The letter of reply was polite but acknowledged only what is favorable about my leaving,” Matory said of the counter-offer from Dean of the Faculty Michael D. Smith.

Harvard may now have a race problem on its hands: it just lost its first “diversity dean,” Lisa Martin, who headed to the University of Wisconsin (frankly, probably a much kinder place than Harvard), who criticized FAS dean Michael Smith as lacking a commitment to diversity.

Matory echoed the sentiment:

In light of diversity dean Lisa L. Martin’s departure from Harvard, he said he thought that Smith was not committed to hiring a diverse Faculty.

“Maybe there is a pattern,” he said. “Maybe Dean Smith doesn’t seem to have found a way to commit himself to this principle as of yet.”

And then there’s that investigation into police racism.

I will give Harvard a piece of advice (I keep thinking Harvard is going to pay me for this stuff, or at least send me a thank-you note. But it never does!): In the world of journalism, three makes a trend. The university needs to be careful here….