West: Summers=Sharon

[Brad DeLong]

>On Tue, 16 Apr 2002 21:17:49 -0700 Brad DeLong
><jbdelong at uclink.berkeley.edu> writes:
>>
>
>>
>>  >"Professors do not have supervisors, brother," Dr. West said today.
>>
>>  >"Professors are free agents to do their work, because there is a
>>  >trust in their judgment about how they go about doing that work."
>>
>>  Wow. That's a new one. I should tell this to my Department Chairman
>>  and my Dean...
>
>Well West is what Harvard calls a "university professor."  He is not
>answerable to any department chairmain nor to any of the deans.
>He is only answerable to the university president.  Theoretically,
>as a univeristy professor, West can lecture in any department
>of the university that he wishes.
>
>Apparently, President Summers, had chosen to exercize his perogative
>of supervising the academic work of Professor West, which implies
>that he believes the appointment of West as a university professor
>under Rudenstine was a mistake.

Gee. When my chairs and deans talk to me about what I'm doing, there 
is no implication that my tenure appointment was a mistake: it's a 
normal part of the process.

Brad DeLong