What happens when you appoint a corporate-CEO type to a position that should be held by an actual scholar who upholds academic values such as open inquiry and diversity?
The New York Times today reports (registration probably required) that the only Black member of Harvard's seven-member governing board has resigned, evidently in protest against the policies of University President and former corporate bigwig Lawrence H. Summers.
(more below)
A Harvard Governor, Dissatisfied, Resigns
By ALAN FINDER
Published: July 29, 2005
The only black member of the Harvard Corporation, the university's seven-member governing board, said yesterday that he was resigning over disagreements with Harvard's president, Lawrence H. Summers.
Dr. Summers has had several public disputes with prominent black faculty members and provoked outrage earlier this year when he made remarks suggesting that "intrinsic aptitude" might be a factor behind the low number of women in science and engineering.
The corporation member, Conrad K. Harper, said in a telephone interview, "I have concluded I can no longer support President Summers." The university announced his resignation yesterday.
Mr. Harper, a lawyer in Manhattan and a former president of the City Bar Association, declined to discuss his specific reasons for stepping down. He said he had laid them out in a letter to Dr. Summers and other members of the corporation on July 14. He said it was up to Harvard to release the letter.
But Harvard officials declined to do so, saying the letter was private....