The Once Over

Dean Rosovsky's decision to form a committee to review the Social Studies concentration last week bewildered many members of the Committee on Degrees in Social Studies who thought the two-decade-old concentration was in good shape.

But on reflection, many recognized that the recent announcement by Michael L. Walzer, professor of Government and chairman of Social Studies for the last 12 years, that he will leave Harvard, combined with the concentration's recent expansion, made this an appropriate time for a review.

Rosovsky decided to create a review committee to "inform myself more carefully" about the status of the concentration. Rosovsky declined to discuss the specific intent of the review, but Walzer and Theda R. Skocpol, associate professor of Sociology, suggested three issues the committee will examine closely: the nature of the chairmanship, the status of junior faculty in the concentration, and the effect of program expansion on resources, both teaching an budgetary.

The Social Studies committee chairmanship currently has no time limit and provides no time off from teaching responsibilities, as do the chairmanships of regular departments.

"The chairmanship has become considerably more time-consuming since I took it on, and I think it should be a term appointment that carries relief from teaching," Walzer said, adding, "Twelve years is too long."

Skocpol said, "You could once count on somebody to administer in his spare time; now you have to have an arrangement for a pool of tenured Faculty among whom to rotate the chairmanship."

The concentration's expansion, caused by the recent move toward open admissions policy, has led to an increase in junior faculty in Social Studies, Walzer said.

"The status of the junior faculty is somewhat anomolous because whereas assistant and associate professors in departments are considered for tenure, junior faculty in Social Studies do not have that possibility," Walzer added.

When Social Studies began 20 years ago, the concentration accepted about 15 students in each year. Last September, however, 72 sophomores entered the program, and Walzer predicted that in a few years about 300 students may be Social Studies concentrators. That expansion "will require substantial increases in budget," he said.

Peter M. Lange, associate professor of Government and a member of the Social Studies committee, said last week that although Rosovsky has provided the teaching resources necessary for the concentration, the increased size has resulted in "nitty-gritty" unanticipated problems like writing more recommendations for students.

In addition to planning a review committee, Rosovsky said last week he would appoint an acting chairman to replace Walzer. He has not yet chosen anyone.

"The departure of Professor Walzer leaves us with a vacuum in leadership," Richard M. Hunt, senior lecturer on Social Studies and a member of the concentration committee, said last week.

"There's no alternative," Stanley H. Hoffmann, professor of Government and a member of the Social Studies committee, said last week. "I'm not sure anyone at this point was willing to take on the responsibilities."