Concentrators Organize to Block Houghton And Potter Dismissals

In protesting against the dismissal of two assistant professors of History and Literature, John M. Potter '26 and Walter E. Houghton, a group of concentrators in that field met last night at Kirkland House to map out a program for collective action.

After hearing reports on the Potter - Houghton controversy in particular and on the tenure situation in general, the body set itself up as a permanent Council of History and Literature Concentrators and elected a ten-man executive committee.

The council intends primarily to oppose the University's dismissal of Potter and Houghton, and also to continue as a unified organization in case of future controversies. The executive committee will report after the spring vacation on ways and means to retain the two men.

University Policy Faultless

Robert Seidman '41, in his report on the tenure problem, found no fault in the University's policy of limiting the tenure of assistant professors to eight years. But the undesirable features of the program, he asserted, were that assistant professorships were to be abolished completely and that no men would be made associate professors if they did not have an opportunity to become full professors within five or ten years.

Seidman declared that with the departure of Potter and Houghton, the History and Literature Department would have practically no teachers between the ranks of professor and instructor; therefore, the field would be unnecessarily weak for several years.

Not Justifiable

Charging that "budgetary necessities" cannot completely justify the dismissal of the two men, Lawrence Lader '41 stated in his report that the difference in salaries between assistant and associate professors is trivial, and that thus Potter and Houghton could be promoted with practically no change in the budget.

The ten men elected to the executive committee were: Rufus Mathewson '41, Leo Marx '41, Robert Seidman '41, Robert Stange '41, Charles Bridge '42, Frank Funser '42, Gabriel Jackson '42, Dana Reed '43, Harold Solomon '43, and William Thompson '43.