French Literature Scholar Gains Tenure Promotion

Harvard has decided to promote a junior faculty specialist in modern French literature, who will become the twentieth tenured woman on the Faculty, officials said yesterday.

The appointment of Susan R. Suleiman, Loeb Associate Professor of Humanities--pending routine Corporation approval--marks the third this year of a junior faculty woman.

There are approximately 350 tenured professors in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. ABout 10 to 12 or the lifetime appointments are usually made each year.

"I'm very pleased. "It's a great day for Harvard," said the 44-year-old Suleiman, who will also become the third tenured woman in the Department of Romance Languages and Literature.

The scholar called her appointment part of a "growing awareness that Harvard should promote people from the inside."

Harvard has often been criticized for being reluctant to promote its own junior faculty, in favor of appointing established academics from other institutions.

But earlier this fall two other women associate professors were tenured--biochemist Nancy E. Kleckner '68 and religion scholar Diana L. Eck.

Nothing But Praise

Colleagues of Suleiman praised the appointment, saying that she would add strength to an area they said has been under-repre-sented at the tenured level in her department.

"She received unanimous and enthusiastic support. She'll be a tremendous addition," said Barbara E. Johnson, herself a secend addition to the department. "Having those women in a fairly small department is a good record," she added.

Wilga M. Rivers is the third tenured woman in the department.

Jules Brody, chairman of the department, added. "I consider it one of my major accomplishments to have gotten her here and given her tenure."

Future Plans

Suleiman said she plans to spend next year on leave from Harvard with a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, during which she will study French surrealism, especially as related to French feminist theory.

Her last book--on ideological novels--was published simultaneously in French and English.

Suleiman--who was described by students as and excellent teacher--was born in Hungary, graduated from Barnard in 1960, and received her Ph D from Harvard in 1969.

Following her doctoral work, she taught at Columbia University and Occidental College, returning to Harvard in 1981. During her graduate years at Harvard, Suleiman won and award for best teaching fellow in the Romance Languanges and Literature department, century French fiction, as well as a course on Proust.

Loeb Chairs

As a Loeb associate professor, Suleiman has been one of the occupants of Harvard's first group of endowed junior professorships created two years ago through a multi-million dollar donation from a New York investment banker.