An Unhealthy Situation

The ongoing guerilla war between Howard Hiatt, dean of the School of Public Health, and some members of his faculty took another bizarre turn this week, as Hiatt confronted some angry alumni at the American Public Health Convention in Los Angeles.

The school's Alumni Council convened for breakfast and dinner last Monday at the Los Angeles Hilton, just days after President Bok received an angry letter from the council's president, Dr. Paul Torrens, criticizing Bok's handling of the health school conflict. Faculty members say they did not solicit Torrens's letter.

"It is my own personal opinion that the future of the school is in serious jeopardy unless immediate and vigorous actions are taken to provide the faculty with an equal share of the responsibility in charting the future course of that school," Torrens wrote. He added that the Alumni Council will not support--and some alumni will actively impede--any fund-raising activities on behalf of the school, until the conflicting parties come to "just terms."

Administrators are currently considering plans for a $40 million fund-drive for the school.

At the convention, Hiatt told alumni that he is already taking steps to improve faculty input into his administration. Margaret Drolett, associate professor of Biostatics, said last Monday, "The dean is making a greater effort to communicate with the faculty. He is holding weekly luncheons and talking to faculty members individually in his office to hear their opinions. I think he's making progress."

But another member of the tenured faculty--and one of those who signed a petition calling for Hiatt's resignation--said that "brown paper bag luncheons are simply not enough."

"We don't want to shoot the breeze with him," the faculty member, who wished to remain unidentified, said.

The schism between Hiatt and his faculty came to a head in August, when 17 senior faculty members addressed a petition to Bok calling for Hiatt's resignation. The members who signed cited Hiatt's "alleged neglect of the collegial process" and his alleged disregard for faculty input into school policy as reasons for a dismissal, but Bok backed the dean.

Torrens reported to Bok in his letter that alumni were upset at the "chiding, chastising, and frankly belittling manner with which you approached that faculty." Torrens wrote that the Alumni Council will not support fundraising for the school until "the dignity and respect" of the faculty is restored.

Bok said he is not yet sure how much the letter means to him, as he has received "many other letters in support of the dean," including one from Sen. Edward M. Kennedy '54 (D-Mass.). Bok has not planned any action over this most recent flare of controversy until he speaks to Hiatt and Torrens.