Sandel Donates Book Royalties

Is it "just" for Harvard professors to profit from royalties from required course texts?

Associate Professor Michael J. Sandel who teaches the popular Moral Reasoning 22 course, "Justice," does not think so. For the third year, Sandel includes his book, "Liberalism and the Limits of Justice" on the required reading list with the footnote, "Author's royalties from course sales to be donated."

Although Sandel said he hasn't decided where the royalties will go, he said he feels that "for a course on justice, the appearance as well as fact of propriety is important."

Sandel said he may donate the money to charity or put it back into the course. In the past, he has donated the book's proceeds to the Harvard Scholarship Fund.

Harvard has no policy on whether professors can profit on the sale of texts to students in their classes. The University leaves that decision to the individual instructor, according to faculty officials.

But some professors, like Sandel, have decided that texts should appear on required reading lists solely for their academic contribution and not for any possible financial gain.

The course administrator for Moral Reasoning 22, Wera I. Hildebrand, said that the large size of the course--912 students--influenced Sandel's decision. "Sandel does not want to feel accused of assigning the book to make a profit," Hildebrand said.

According to head section leader, Ezekiel Emmanuel, if Sandel's $10.95 work were not assigned, an "underground market" would have caused a backlog of orders because of the book's relevance to the course.

Although many professors use their own work for their courses, the large number of students enrolled in Justice makes Sandel's assignment "potentially embarassing," said teaching fellow Andrew Sullivan.

Sandel is not unique among professors who require students to read their books. Three years ago, Government Professor James Q. Wilson donated the proceeds from his "American Government," a required text for his Government 30, to the Harvard Scholarship Fund.

Wilson said he wanted the approximately 250 students in his course to feel that he had assigned the book "for its intellectual qualities" rather than for profit.

He added that he did not want to take advantage of the student through his position, saying "Harvard pays me a salary and I don't feel that I should supplement it [through book royalties]." Wilson termed Sandel's actions "commendable."

Another professor, Stephen J. Gould, who teaches a perennial favorite Core course Science B-16, has put xeroxed excerpts of his works on reserve to give students free access to it.