Posted on 12/31/2001 4:11:56 PM PST by expose
Edited on 07/06/2004 6:37:13 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
BOSTON (AP) -- Jesse Jackson said Monday that he will meet with Harvard University's president to discuss the school's diversity policy following reports that high-profile black professors may leave because of a dispute with the administration.
"The clarification will be good for Harvard, its faculty and the nation," Jackson said. "Harvard is our flagship university and there is concern expressed by the professors about the need for an unequivocal commitment to affirmative action, or inclusion."
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
(Gates btw was the einstein who quoted Robert Burns in a hearing before Congress and attributed it to Shakespeare. Guess if you're an affirmative action hire, all White people sound the same.)
BOSTON (AP) -- Jesse Jackson plans to visit Harvard University for discussions about the school's diversity policy because of reports that high-profile black professors are considering leaving in a rift with the administration.
Jackson said he does not consider the issue a conflict but "we need to clarify the situation," he told The Associated Press.
Henry Louis Gates Jr. and two other prominent members of Harvard's Afro-American studies department -- Cornel West and Anthony Appiah -- have fallen out with new Harvard President Lawrence Summers, who they claim has acted abrasively and suggested West has acted in ways unbecoming to a Harvard professor, The Boston Globe reported. They are considering leaving for Princeton University.
Summers, inaugurated in October, reportedly rebuked West for recording a rap CD, for leading a political committee for the Rev. Al Sharpton's possible presidential campaign, and for allowing grade inflation in his introductory black studies course.
"I don't think university presidents should lecture faculty on their political positions," Appiah said. "If he did it, he shouldn't have."
West said earlier this month that he would take his second leave of absence in two years from Harvard, for treatment of prostate cancer.
Summers said he supports diversity and meant no offense. "It's a very unfortunate misunderstanding if my views have been perceived in other ways," he said.
Following the report in the Globe on Dec. 22 and one in The New York Times on Saturday, Jackson said on Sunday that he planned to seek a meeting with Summers and would visit Harvard even if Summers turns him down.
Harvard spokesman Joe Wrinn said he had no comment and noted the university is closed until Wednesday.
Citing interviews with more than a dozen Harvard faculty, staff and administrators, the Globe reported the rift began when Summers would not make a strong statement in support of affirmative action at a meeting with department members. Summers says he does support diversity.
The Globe said Gates and Appiah visited Princeton in mid-December and met with campus leaders. West, who was a graduate student and taught there before coming to Harvard in 1994, has also spoken to officials there.
Gates, author of "Loose Cannons: Notes on the Culture Wars" and a winner of a 1998 National Humanities Medal, would not comment, saying only: "I do not have an offer from Princeton."
West, author of the best-selling "Race Matters" and one of just 14 Harvard faculty members to carry the special title "university professor," also would not comment.
West's album, "Sketches of My Culture," a mixture of rap and spoken word, was released in September.
Gotta give Summers some respect for telling these race hustelers that they are frauds and their contributions are worthless...last time I looked, Cornball and Ogle tree weren't in shackles and were being paid A LOT of cash for NOTHING.
The Associated Press
BOSTON (December 31, 2001 1:57 p.m. EST) - Some noted black scholars at Harvard University are considering leaving over a rift with new Harvard President Lawrence Summers, according to published reports.
Henry Louis Gates Jr. and two other prominent members of Harvard's Afro-American studies department - Cornel West and Anthony Appiah - are considering leaving for Princeton University, The Boston Globe reported.
The group has reportedly fallen out with Summers, who they claim has acted abrasively and suggested West has acted in ways unbecoming to a Harvard professor. West said earlier this month that he would take his second leave of absence in two years from Harvard, for treatment of prostate cancer.
Summers said he meant no offense. "It's a very unfortunate misunderstanding if my views have been perceived in other ways," he said.
In the wake of the report in the Globe on Dec. 22 and one in The New York Times on Saturday, Jesse Jackson plans to come to Harvard University to seek clarity on the university's diversity policy.
Jackson said he does not consider the issue a conflict, but told The Associated Press on Sunday night "we need to clarify the situation." He said he planned to contact Summers to seek a meeting.
Citing interviews with more than a dozen Harvard faculty, staff and administrators, the Globe reported the rift began when Summers declined to make a strong statement in support of affirmative action at a meeting with department members.
Summers, inaugurated in October as Harvard's 27th president, also reportedly rebuked West for recording a rap CD, for leading a political committee for the Rev. Al Sharpton's possible presidential campaign, and for allowing grade inflation in his introductory black studies course.
The Globe, citing several sources, said Gates and Appiah visited Princeton in mid-December and met with campus leaders. West, who was a graduate student and taught there before coming to Harvard in 1994, has also spoken to officials there.
Gates, author of "Loose Cannons: Notes on the Culture Wars" and a winner of a 1998 National Humanities Medal, declined to comment. Of his own plans, he said, "I do not have an offer from Princeton." West, author of the best-selling "Race Matters" and one of just 14 Harvard faculty members to carry the special title "university professor," declined to be interviewed, the Globe said.
Summers said he does support diversity at Harvard and said so when he was inaugurated. He said he also believes professors should be free to engage in political activity.
An unidentified university official released a statement saying Summers views the dispute "as a huge misunderstanding."
West's album, "Sketches of My Culture," a mixture of rap and spoken word, was released in September.
A little extortion pressure here. A little protection racket there. And, pretty soon, we're talkin' some big bucks.
Not to mention some "face time" on the networks...
What a useless cartoon of a human being.
ghetto la crosse aficionado's ecstatic over future minority scholarships to be awarded post haste...
I for one am all for separating the ultra-left so-called "intellectuals" from the rest of the people. The more they stand out, the more their own elitist principles stand out and ostracize themselves and their views from the sheeple who dont know the difference or dont care...JFK
Don't let the door hit you in the butt! Let's hope Summers has the cojones not to give these scammers any satisfaction.
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