Statement on Rights and Responsibilities Adopted by Harvard Governing Boards

The Harvard Governing Boards- the Corporation and the Board of Overseers- this week adopted the Statement of Rights and Responsibilities which was drafted and approved by the Faculty last spring.

The adoption of the Statement on an interim basis was proposed by the University Committee on Governance.

Upon the Committee's recommendation, the Governing Boards also amended the Statutes of the University to permit any of Harvard's faculties to allow students to serve on disciplinary committees that consider violations of the Statement.

The amendment provides that any faculty may delegate its power to dismiss or expel students "in a manner consistent with rules adopted by the Governing Boards."

The method of selection and composition of faculty-student disciplinary committees remains subject to approval by the Governing Boards.

The Board of Overseers adopted the Statement unanimously although some Board members are known to be displeased with its imprecision.

There was no discussion at the Overseers' meeting about changing the Statement, but two other versions- drafted by members of the Board of Overseers- are currently in circulation.

In adopting the Statement, the Overseers emphasized that it be considered an interim statement and that it be reviewed with the goal of improving it.

Of greater importance to the Overseers is the apparent shift towards faculty unity indicated by the very existence of the Statement. By adopting the Statement, the Overseers give the Faculty a vote of confidence; to reject the Statement would have endangered this same unity.

The Interpretation

The adoption of the Statement in toto leaves unchanged the widely criticized interpretation of the Statement which the Faculty added.

The interpretation states, "It is implicit in the language of the Statement ... that intense personal harassment of such a character as to amount to grave disrespect for the dignity of others be regarded as an unacceptable violation of the personal rights on which the University is based."

The Board of Overseers also adopted the view of the Committee on Governance that the changes regarding students eligibility on disciplinary committees and the delegation of a faculty's power to dismiss or expel students be considered experimental.

The formal adoption of the Statement by the Governing Boards extends its application to all faculties of the University.