On Wed, 17 Apr 2002 10:08:16 -0700 Brad DeLong
<jbdelong at uclink.berkeley.edu> writes:
> >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.
I think that what West was implying is that university professors are normally not subjected to such supervision (whether or not that really is the case, I have no way of knowing). If that is the case, then he might well have cause for raising a ruckus about it. Certainly, in his situation, he could do so with little cost to himself, since he had other options and has chosen to exercize them
Jim F.
>
>
> Brad DeLong
>
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