Knowles Explains Linguistics Plans to Council

Amid continuing student criticism, Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles explained plans to restructure the Linguistics Department into a committee to the Faculty Council yesterday.

The council's discussion came just hours after four linguistics concentrators met with Acting Linguistics Department Chair Christoph J. Wolff to voice complaints about the proposed change in their department's status.

Knowles and Wolff told the council they are taking steps to restructure the Lingusitics Department because of a number of problems in the department which include the inability to appoint a senior professor, according to Wolff.

"Can we find a structure for linguistics at Harvard which will work better than the structure we have today?" Wolff asked at the meeting.

The council also discussed possible options that will be examined by the Advisory Committee formed by Knowles to devise alternative structures for the department.

"We wanted to know what exact procedures were being followed because [reports in] The Harvard Crimson had taken us by surprise," said Assistant Professor of German Peter J. Burgard. "At today's meeting the issue was taken quite seriously and not just accepted as a decision that's been made".

The Advisory Committee, which is chaired by Professor of Philosophy Warren D. Goldfarb '69 and includes the two senior linguistics profesors, will present a recommendation to the Faculty Council in early spring. The recommendation must then be voted on by the Faculty.

"It is not the function of the committee to look into departmental reorganization...We have tried that," said Wolff after the meeting. "The committee has to make a very good case [for a committee] so the Council will vote in its favor."

Although the administration has said the restructuring of the department is in the best interest of the students, undergraduate concerns have not quieted.

Several linguistics concentrators met on Sunday to discuss ways to inform faculty and students from other departments about the field of linguistics and their opposition to the formation of a committee, said Joel L. Derfner '95.

The concentrators are also talking to national linguistics experts by computer networks, Derfner said.

"At this stage we're going to make sure the faculty who votes on this knows what's necessary in a university for the study of linguistics," said Genevieve Roach '94.

Wolff said last night that one of the problems of the Linguistics Department is that there are only two senior professors and the junior pro- fessors do most of the undergraduate teaching.

The fact that undergraduates are being taughtprimarily by junior professors is an indicationthat there are some "basic imbalances" in theteaching structure, Wolff said.

Since two tenured professors left Harvard in1987 and 1990 respectively, the department hasonly Professor of Linguistics Susumu Kuno andThomas Professor of Linguistics and the ClassicsCalvert Watkins, who have been at Harvard sincethe 1960s, according to Wolff.

But students say that one of their favoriteaspects of the department is the technicalexpertise and teaching ability of the juniorfaculty.

"Junior faculty like to do the teaching and theundergraduates like the teaching, so what's theproblem here," said Roach.

The students said they are also concerned aboutwho will fill the two vacancies that will becreated next year when the terms of AssociateProfessors of Linguistics Mark Hale and Jill L.Carrier finish.

Wolff said the vacancies will be filled by asenior visiting professors and a juniorappointment.

The invitations, which have not been consideredyet, will be made after the Advisory Committeereports its recommendation and after thelinguistics curriculum for the next two years isdecided.

"We do not have to make an appointment in sucha way that there are long-term implications,"Wolff said.

Roche said that Wolff has announced the postswill be filled by generative linguists, who comefrom the main branch of modern linguistics. Deanof Undergraduate Education Lawrence Buell said theposts would be filled by professors in otherdepartments, according to Roche.

The Linguistics Department has tried to tenurescholars several times, but the last searchcommittee--which was composed of both linguistsand professors from other departments--wasdissolved in the spring of 1992 because ofinternal disagreement, said Wolff.

"It was a committee of five people with atleast six different opinions, said Wolff

The fact that undergraduates are being taughtprimarily by junior professors is an indicationthat there are some "basic imbalances" in theteaching structure, Wolff said.

Since two tenured professors left Harvard in1987 and 1990 respectively, the department hasonly Professor of Linguistics Susumu Kuno andThomas Professor of Linguistics and the ClassicsCalvert Watkins, who have been at Harvard sincethe 1960s, according to Wolff.

But students say that one of their favoriteaspects of the department is the technicalexpertise and teaching ability of the juniorfaculty.

"Junior faculty like to do the teaching and theundergraduates like the teaching, so what's theproblem here," said Roach.

The students said they are also concerned aboutwho will fill the two vacancies that will becreated next year when the terms of AssociateProfessors of Linguistics Mark Hale and Jill L.Carrier finish.

Wolff said the vacancies will be filled by asenior visiting professors and a juniorappointment.

The invitations, which have not been consideredyet, will be made after the Advisory Committeereports its recommendation and after thelinguistics curriculum for the next two years isdecided.

"We do not have to make an appointment in sucha way that there are long-term implications,"Wolff said.

Roche said that Wolff has announced the postswill be filled by generative linguists, who comefrom the main branch of modern linguistics. Deanof Undergraduate Education Lawrence Buell said theposts would be filled by professors in otherdepartments, according to Roche.

The Linguistics Department has tried to tenurescholars several times, but the last searchcommittee--which was composed of both linguistsand professors from other departments--wasdissolved in the spring of 1992 because ofinternal disagreement, said Wolff.

"It was a committee of five people with atleast six different opinions, said Wolff