Black studies scholar likens Harvard chief to Sharon

Reuters, Israel ^ | 4-16-02

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Black studies scholar likens Harvard chief to Sharon

    BOSTON, April 16 (Reuters) - Slamming Harvard president 
Lawrence Summers as "the Ariel Sharon" of American education, 
top black studies professor Cornel West said on Tuesday 
Summers' behavior had led him to quit Harvard for Princeton. 
    The two academics have been publicly feuding for some time 
but Tuesday's comments by West took the dispute to a new level 
of acrimony. 
    "Larry Summers strikes me as the Ariel Sharon of American 
higher education," West told the New York Times in a reference 
to the Israeli prime minister, demonized by his critics as a 
military bulldozer responsible for a massacre of Palestinians 
in Lebanon's Sabra and Shatila refugee camps two decades 
 ago. 
    "He struck me very much as a bull in a china shop, and as a 
bully, in a very delicate and dangerous situation," West said 
of Summers. 
    The unusual personal attack culminated a spat between 
Summers and West that started last autumn when the new 
president chided West for spending too much time on work that 
was not scholarly. 
    West and some other professors in the Afro-American Studies 
department also accused Summers of failing to support 
affirmative action. 
    Asked to comment on West's remarks, Joe Wrinn, spokesman 
for Harvard, said, "It's not fruitful to have that conversation 
at this point." West was not available for comment. 
    West's departure from Harvard and the bitter criticism was 
a new blow to Summers. 
    His first year leading what many consider to be the 
nation's most prestigious university has been roiled by the 
dispute with the black studies faculty and a messy fight over 
pay for low-wage campus workers. 
    But Summers did not appear to have singled out West for 
particular attention. Summers also challenged the faculty of 
the John F. Kennedy School of Government to explain what they 
do better than the law school or the business school to prepare 
students for public service. 
    He asked senior faculty at the Graduate School of Education 
to justify its existence and in a move that has dismayed some 
faculty, he questioned the practice of favoring older, more 
established scholars when awarding tenure. 

SMALL SNUBS Nevertheless, West's move was cause for concern at Harvard, which over the last decade built a strong black studies program but has lost two of its top teachers. Philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah accepted a job at Princeton in January. West described to the New York Times a pattern of small snubs by Summers such as failing to send a get well-message until two months after his surgery for prostate cancer. But the core of the dispute appeared to be West's reaction to Summers's questioning of his work on political campaigns and his recording of a narrative CD. While Summers reportedly tried to mend fences, West said it was too little, too late. In a forthcoming article in Vanity Fair, West also expresses outrage at accusations that he missed three weeks of classes to pursue his political activities. In fact, the magazine says, West is known for his dedication to the classroom and for being easily accessible to students. "Miss three weeks and sneak around and act like I'm there when I'm not there?" he told the magazine. "That's the biggest attack on my integrity, man." Critics have argued politics and speeches do not meet the rigorous standards West, as one of only 17 university professors at Harvard, should maintain. They also say West is overdue to produce a work of scholarship. "He has written some academic volumes in his field -- philosophy -- but he wrote these over a decade ago," University of California Professor John McWhorter wrote in a opinion piece in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal. ((Christopher Noble, Boston newsroom, 617-367-4106; fax 617-248-9563; e-mail boston.newsroom@reuters.com))

[mrustow]

Cornel West is the Lumpy Rutherford of American education.

Lumpy who?

[Lee'sGhost]

Lumpy = Leave it to Beaver goof

[N. Theknow]

Black Studies Scholar Cornel West?

Philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah?

Who makes this stuff up?

[colorado tanker]

West is a racist." And no scholar. Summers ought to be hailed for being a leader and Princeton ought to be embarrassed.

[mrustow]

Lumpy = Leave it to Beaver goof

Thanks for the explanation. Your memory is a lot better than mine. I only remember the family members, and of course, Eddie Haskell.

[mrustow]

Oh, my God! I just found myself whistling the Leave it to Beaver theme, over 35 years after last hearing it! (No, we don't have cable.)

[Lee'sGhost]

So, you're memory is better than you thought.

[aristeides]

Well, West can no longer boast about being a "Harvard scholar". He was repeated called that in the promos for his appearance on C-SPAN at the beginning of the year, presumably because he insisted on the title.

His comparison of Summers to Sharon is obviously anti-Semitic in inspiration, but I'm afraid it isn't quite explicit enough to justify some kind of professional punishment (which I don't think Princeton would ever dare, anyway.) However, I suspect West could be provoked into saying something that is more explicit.

[Carolina]

Lawrence Summers was a Clintonista. He was the Sec'y of Treasury after Rubin left. He was also a vice president and chief economist with the World Bank before his post with the Klintoon mis-administration.

[colorado tanker]

Says a lot about the state of affairs in academia that a mainstream liberal like Summers is viewed as a reactionary there, doesn't it?

[Bagehot]

Cornel West would be teaching at a community college if he were white.

[185JHP]

I believe you're flattering him. I'd like to see him given the SAT.