Denied Tenure, Richardson To Depart

After being denied tenure, Associate Professor of Government Louise M. Richardson has decided to leave Harvard at the end of spring semester.

Richardson said she learned last March that she did not receive the recommendation of Harvard's Department of Government in her bid for a permanent Faculty position. She said she thinks her candidacy, having failed to win the backing of her department, never reached President Neil L. Rudenstine's desk.

Richardson has served as the department's head tutor for the last two years and is one of few female specialists in the field of international security.

"The decision reached by the department does not diminish in any way the enormous respect and gratitude we have for the job Louise Richardson has done for the undergraduate program," said Williams Professor of History and Political Science Roderick MacFarquhar, who is also the government department's chair.

In 1998, Richardson earned the Abramson Award for her commitment to the interests of undergraduates.

Students and colleagues expressed sadness at the news of Richardson's imminent departure.

Her course Government 1748: "Terrorist Movements in International Security," which she has taught for the last three years, has consistently earned high marks from students.

"People were talking about how sad it was that this was the last time the course would be offered," said Nicole C. Ruiz '02, who took the course this fall.

Ruiz, a government concentrator, lamented both the loss of Richardson and the dearth of women in her department.

"It does seem like the concentration is a little bit ... well actually, a lot ...stacked in favor of men, which makes it a bit daunting for women," Ruiz said.

Alvin B. Tillery, a "Terrorism" teaching fellow and Harvard Ph.D. candidate, said that though he greatly admires Richardson, he was not altogether shocked to hear she had been denied tenure.

"Of course I was surprised on one level because Louise has been a tremendous teacher, role model and friend," Tillery said.

"But I'm never surprised any more when someone is not given tenure at Harvard because of the way the system works," Tillery added.

Richardson, a graduate of Trinity College in Dublin, did her doctoral work at Harvard under Buttenwieser University Professor Stanley Hoffmann and has been teaching at the College since 1989.

"Her case was treated with the seriousness with which we treat all questions of promotion to tenure from inside the department," MacFarquhar said.

In accordance with the department's procedures, Richardson was considered by a committee of three colleagues, picked by MacFarquhar, to assess her credentials.

This internal panel delivered its recommendation to the rest of the department at a meeting in the fall of 1998.

After hearing from the three-person committee, the entire body of tenured government professors then voted not to endorse Richardson for tenure.

The timing of these events coincided with Richardson's outspoken opposition to the dismissal of D. Drew Douglas, Class of 2000, a Harvard student accused of raping another undergraduate.

Richardson was one of only five Faculty Council members to advocate withdrawal instead of the harsher punishment of dismissal for Douglas.

"I do not believe that I was denied tenure because of the position I took. I never thought I was owed tenure," Richardson said.

"I knew it was not a politic thing to do," she added.

Richardson said she plans to spend the next year on sabbatical.