Not Impressive Enough...

Another member of Harvard's junior faculty found out last week that the University's prescribed path to a tenured position can end in a cliff.

The Sociology Department's decision last week not to recommend tenure for Theda R. Skocpol, associate professor of Sociology, came as a surprise to many who consider her one of the top young sociologists in the country.

This past summer she received the American Sociological Association Award for distinguished contributions to sociology--the highest award in the field--and the C. Wright Mills Award from the U.S. Association of Sociology for her book, States and Social Revolution, published last year. Colleagues and students consider her one of the best teachers in the department, and four universities have offered her tenure.

But the five senior members of Harvard's Sociology Department who voted against Skocpol did so, in part, because they thought she had not sufficiently established herself in the field.

"I think almost everybody agrees she's a person of very great promise. I guess the difficulty has been whether that promise has been demonstrated sufficiently," William Alonso '54, Saltonstall Professor of Population Policy, who declined to disclose his vote, said last week.

All 11 full-time tenured professors in Sociology took part in the decision. The vote--which departments usually keep secret--was five in favor of recommending Skocpol for tenure, five opposed and one abstention, departmental sources said.

"At a personal level, I am deeply hurt by this unnecessary rejection, coming when the department has several vacancies to fill," Skocpol said this week.

"I'm very unhappy about the results. I think she's a first-rate candidate. I think we made a terrible mistake," Orlando Patterson, professor of Sociology, said.

Paul E. Starr, assistant professor of Sociology, who did not participate in the vote, said he thought Skocpol "represents a very important field within sociology--a very important outlook. I'm sorry she won't be around here to be its exponent." Skocpol is known for her comparative and historical work, particularly concerning revolutions.

The Skocpol decision upset many Sociology graduate students who had supported a resolution last month calling on the department to recommend Skocpol for tenure, Peter Bearman, Sociology graduate student coordinator, said this week.

Bearman said graduate students who supported Skocpol did not understand "how the department could deny tenure to someone of her stature and maintain its reputation." He added that he is "not convinced the department can still attract top-rate scholars."

While the department's decision angered some at Harvard, it buoyed the hopes of department chairman at universities that have offered Skocpol tenure--Stanford University, the University of Chicago, the University of Wisconsin and the University of North Carolina.

"I'm delighted that they didn't want her because that makes it better for those of us who do want her," Aage Sorenson, chairman of the sociology department at the University of Wisconsin, said yesterday, adding that he was surprised at Harvard's decision.

Skocpol said this week she has not yet decided which tenure offer she will accept.