Books by Cornel West

Democracy Matters: The Fight Against Imperialism  /  Race Matters  / Cornel West Reader  /  The Future of the Race  

The American Evasion of Philosophy  /  African American Religious Thought  /  The War Against Parents 

The African American Century /  White on White / Black on Black  / Prophesy Deliverance  / The Soul Knows No Bars

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West Cites Reason For Quitting

By Patrick Healy, Globe Staff

Cornel West, the well-known scholar of race and American culture, decided to leave the Harvard University faculty last week because president Lawrence H. Summers told him he wanted to personally review West's scholarly work every few months to ensure it was up to Harvard standards, West says in a Vanity Fair article to be published in May.

The request by Summers, if true, would be an extraordinary demand for a university president to make of a professor, let alone the president of Harvard to a university professor, the highest faculty rank, which West will hold until July 1 when he becomes a senior professor of religion at Princeton University.

In the Vanity Fair article, Summers declined to comment on West's account of their exchange, but is described as mystified by it. A Harvard official told the magazine that "administrators don't monitor faculty members at universities. They do try to stay in touch. There seems to be a regrettable misunderstanding."

A Harvard spokesman yesterday declined to comment on the article, and said Summers would have no comment.

West's comments to Vanity Fair represent his fullest description to date of his private meeting with Summers in October. According to West, Summers began the meeting accusing him of once missing three weeks of classes in order to travel with former US Senator Bill Bradley's presidential campaign. West said he replied, "That's not true, where'd you hear that lie?" West said Summers cited "three independent sources," but the professor again denied the allegation.

The magazine cited a "source close to Summers" as saying the president "did reference rumors" about West missing classes, but "expressed complete satisfaction with what West said and deeply regrets the misunderstanding."

As one of 17 university professors, West has considerable latitude for teaching and research at Harvard and reports directly to Summers. He also said in the article that the president suggested West undertake a project to "reconstruct" a philosophical discipline. According to West, Summers ended the meeting saying, "I look forward to seeing you every two to three months to make sure you're doing scholarly work that is in some way commensurate with your position."

After the meeting, West said, he told his department chairman, Henry Louis Gates Jr., that he wanted to resign "on the spot."

Source: Boston Globe 14 April 2002

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update 23 June 2008