Scholars Refuse Posts

Two professors at other universities recently turned down Harvard faculty offers, one in Romance Languages and one in the Chemistry Department, officials said yesterday.

Luis Rafael-Sanchez, a prominent Puerto Rican essayist and novelist, would have served as a visiting professor next spring. Peter G. Schultz, a biological chemist at the University of California at Berkeley, was offered a tenured post by the Chemistry Department.

According to Romance Language Department Chair Luis Fernandez-Cifuentes, Rafael-Sanchez turned down the offer earlier this week because he could not leave his present post at City University of New York(CUNY).

But Fernandez-Cifuentes said there is a strong possibility Sanchez will be invited to Harvard another year.

"It's too bad," Fernandez-Cifuentes said yesterday. "[But] I don't think this is a closed case...He may still come in the future."

Rafael-Sanchez' refusal comes on the heels of demands from the Coalition for Diversity for the University to tenure a Latino scholar.

"This is a setback," said Lao President Julia M. Reyes '94. "But it's not dampening our spirits altogether...we're not going to stop struggling for it."

"Even besides having a Latino professor here, the issue was having [Rafael-Sanchez] here," Reyes said. "I know he was having a hard time leaving CUNY, but I wish something else could have been done to get him up here."

And students who had hoped to take a class with Rafael-Sanchez said they were disappointed by the news.

"It's a pity," said literature concentrator Roberto S. Buso-Garcia '94. "I really was excited... He was a great choice."

"He's an excellent teacher," said Buso-Garcia, who has heard the author speak in Puerto Rico. "He's the best Puerto Rican author of our generation. He's an amazing writer."

Schultz did not specify his reasons for turning down his offer, according to Chemistry Department Chair Roy G. Gordon. "Last year he was leaning toward coming," Gordon said.

"I believe it was for a mixture of personal reasons and his strong connections with various parts of Berkeley, and the local community," said

Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles. "He was very happy with Harvard's offer."

The biological chemist is well known for his work with antibodies, which he demonstrated to be biochemical catalysts.

Sanchez, who focuses his writings largely on Puerto Rican culture and cultural history, is best known for his 1976 novel La Gauaracha de Macho Camacho (Macho Camacho's Beat). He teaches one semester at the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras and one semester at CUNY each year

Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles. "He was very happy with Harvard's offer."

The biological chemist is well known for his work with antibodies, which he demonstrated to be biochemical catalysts.

Sanchez, who focuses his writings largely on Puerto Rican culture and cultural history, is best known for his 1976 novel La Gauaracha de Macho Camacho (Macho Camacho's Beat). He teaches one semester at the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras and one semester at CUNY each year