Dean Nixes Proposal For Student Input

Dean of the Faculty A. Michael Spence yesterday criticized an Undergraduate Council report calling for formal student input in the tenure process and the resurrection of the post of tenured associate professor.

In an interview covering a broad range of topics, Spence said that the council's hope to institutionalize students' role in appointing senior faculty is unrealistic. The dean also said he opposed reinstating the position of tenured associate professor, which has not existed at Harvard since 1968.

The council approved the report Sunday and will take it to the Committee on Undergraduate Education (CUE) next week. If the CUE supports the report, the Faculty Council, which Spence chairs, must approve it before the full Faculty can consider it.

Members of the Undergraduate Council began writing the report last fall in response to student concern that the University's tenure process overlooks the teaching ability of candidates for lifetime posts.

In a report on tenure last spring, Spence called for an increase in the proportion of in-house junior faculty who are promoted to senior positions. Students and faculty questioned Spence's commitment to the report later in the year when three popular associate professors were denied tenure.

Recently Spence has said it will take about a decade to implement the goals of his report.

Spence said he does not object to students voicing opinions on tenure candidates to department chairmen but added that he thought any formal integration of student participation in the tenure process is not likely. Potential breeches of confidentiality could arise if students were to play a heightened role in the process, he said.

"Realistically, I think students can have informal input into appointments at the departmental level," Spence said. "I don't think it's realistic for students to have a formal role."

The dean also said he is opposed to reviving the post of tenured associate professor because such a system might result in lowering tenure standards for in-house junior faculty, while outside scholars would be evaluated more stringently.

"I have to confess I have my doubts about having two different ranks of tenured faculty," Spence said. "It's sort of disguising a way to havedifferent standards."

But Spence said some faculty members are infavor of bringing back the post and it is possiblehe would "be talked into it."

Students for Student Involvement

Council members contacted yesterday reaffirmedtheir call for a formalized role in the tenureprocess, adding that the problem ofconfidentiality should not factor in the faculty'sconsideration of the plan.

"I really cannot see why students are lesscompetent at maintaining confidentiality thanother members of the community," said Amy B.Zegart '89, vice chairman of the council.

Evan J. Mandery '89, chairman of the committeethat drafted the council report, said the councilwill continue to push for the reforms contained inthe report. "I don't think he [Spence] should beso fast to dismiss our recommendations, becauseinformal input currently exists and isinsufficient," Mandery said.

In yesterday's interview, Spence again refusedto comment about the possibility of his beingnamed the next president of Princeton University.Princeton's trustee search committee will meetagain later this week to review candidates for theuniversity's soon-to-be-vacant presidency, andSpence has been said to be among the leaders of thepack