FAS Administration
Bacow Defends Use of Confidential Committees in Tenure Process Following FAS Review
Just over a week after a review of Harvard’s tenure process found that the use of secretive ad hoc committees “erodes faculty trust” in the system, University President Lawrence S. Bacow defended the school’s use of the committees as a necessary aspect of deliberations.
FAS Tenure Report
A recent review of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences tenure system for professors recommended certain adjustments.
FAS Review Largely Upholds Tenure System Despite Acknowledging ‘Mistrust and Low Morale’
A review of tenure processes within the Faculty of the Arts and Sciences found that the tenure-track system is “structurally sound” but recommended adjustments in certain aspects of the system to address “mistrust and low morale” in the process.
Faculty Discuss Campus Covid Situation, Potential Graduate Student Strike
An early September Covid-19 surge led to “nail-biting” moments for administrators, but Harvard has dodged “severe” cases of Covid-19 among vaccinated students this semester, University officials said during a faculty meeting Tuesday.
Alumni Gift $45 Million to Expand Asian American Studies
The donations will endow new professorships and graduate fellowships, as well as fund academic research in the field. The expansion is part of an FAS-led push to bolster the study of ethnicity, indigeneity, and migration at Harvard.
FAS Committee to Announce Future Course Registration Proposal in December
The Committee on Course Registration announced Wednesday that it will reveal its proposal for the College’s future course registration model in December, which could spell the end of the current shopping week system.
Undergrads Overwhelmingly Back Shopping Week Referendum, Elect 48 to Undergraduate Council
Harvard College students voted overwhelmingly in favor of a referendum on shopping week and elected 48 students to the Undergraduate Council with high voter turnout, the UC Election Commission announced Friday afternoon.
Committee to Vote on Proposal to Eliminate Spring 2022 Shopping Week
The Standing Committee on Undergraduate Educational Policy, an FAS panel overseeing the College curriculum, plans to vote Tuesday on a proposal to eliminate shopping week for the Spring 2022 semester.
Harvard Reports High Vaccination Rates Among Students and Employees Ahead of Full Reopening
Just days ahead of move-in for the fall semester, 93 percent of Harvard employees and 87 percent of students are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, University administrators wrote in an email to affiliates Wednesday.
Harvard Restores Prof. Fryer’s Teaching, Research Roles After Two-Year Sexual Harassment Suspension
Economics professor Roland G. Fryer Jr. will be allowed to return to teaching and research roles at Harvard this week after a two-year suspension for violating Faculty of Arts and Sciences sexual harassment policies.
Harvard Will Not Hold In-Person Shopping Week for Third Semester in a Row This Fall
Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences will hold virtual course previews in lieu of an in-person shopping week — a period at the start of the term when students can test out classes before officially enrolling — for the third semester in a row this fall.
Anthropology Prof. Urton Stripped of Emeritus Status, Barred From Campus Following Sexual Misconduct Investigation
Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Claudine Gay stripped former Anthropology professor Gary Urton of his emeritus status and barred him from campus following an investigation that confirmed he violated sexual misconduct policies, she wrote in an email to Anthropology department affiliates Thursday.
‘Disrespected, Devalued, or Dismissed’: University Affiliates Assess Harvard’s Commitment to Black Scholars
Dean of the Faculty of the Arts and Sciences Claudine Gay acknowledged in a March faculty meeting that, despite the best efforts of University leaders, Black academics at Harvard face “particular challenges” in addition to already-rigorous teaching and research responsibilities.
Harvard To Launch Two Programs Aimed at Broadening Humanities Research, Engagement in Fall 2021
Harvard’s Arts and Humanities Division and the Mahindra Humanities Center will launch two new programs in fall 2021 to help promote undergraduate humanities research and collaboration across fields.
Faculty Discuss Response to Epstein Report, Conflict of Interest Reporting
Harvard administrators outlined responses the University has taken regarding the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey E. Epstein’s ties to Harvard during a monthly meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Tuesday.
Gay Levies Sanctions Against Prof. Nowak for Contacts With Jeffrey Epstein
Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Claudine Gay will shut down Harvard’s Program for Evolutionary Dynamics after determining that its director, Mathematics and Biology professor Martin A. Nowak, violated University policies through his extensive contacts with convicted sex offender Jeffrey E. Epstein.
35% of Surveyed FAS Faculty Believe A Departmental Colleague Was Unjustly Denied Tenure
Thirty-five percent of respondents to The Crimson’s annual survey of Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences said they believe at least one colleague in their department was unjustly denied tenure, with a quarter indicating they “strongly believe” an unjust tenure denial had occurred.
Harvard College Students Will Live on Campus, Learn in Person in Fall 2021, FAS Announces
The Faculty of Arts and Sciences is “expecting a full return to campus” and a return to “in-person learning” for College students in fall 2021, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Claudine Gay announced Monday.
Harvard Administrators Respond to Spike in Anti-Asian Hate Crimes, Atlanta Shootings
Harvard administrators responded to the rise in anti-Asian violence and hate crimes since the onset of the pandemic last year in a series of emails calling for the University to come together in support of Asian American and Pacific Islander students.
Preceptors Disappointed With FAS Review That Reaffirms Appointment Cap System
A committee charged with reviewing the role of preceptors and senior preceptors within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences released a report early this month reaffirming its stance on time-capping appointments for the non-tenured positions, prompting disappointment among preceptors in various departments.
‘Steering Your Own Ship’: Committee Concentrations Forge Unique Paths for Students and Faculty
In addition to the full departments under the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, 10 nondepartmental degree programs overseen by Standing Committees of the FAS offer undergraduate concentrations. Both faculty on these committees and students under these concentrations acknowledge the unique characteristics of pursuing one’s studies under such an administration.
With Virtual Instruction, Faculty Juggle Teaching, Research, Diapers, and Daycare
Mathematics associate senior lecturer Dusty E. Grundmeier first noticed headlines circulating about the novel coronavirus at the start of the spring 2020 semester. He immediately became concerned that the spreading virus would drastically alter the course of the spring semester.
Cornel West To Depart Harvard, Return To Union Theological Seminary
Professor Cornel R. West ’74 announced his departure from Harvard to Union Theological Seminary Monday in an interview with the online publication The Boycott Times, weeks after West alleged Harvard denied his request to be considered for tenure.
FAS Dean Gay Says Harvard Planning for ‘Full Return’ in Fall 2021
Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Claudine Gay said in a Friday interview that Harvard is currently planning for fall 2021 with the “overriding goal” of “charting a path to a full return for our students, our faculty, and staff.”
In Light of Cornel West’s Threatened Departure, Harvard Doctoral Students Call on University to Grant Him Tenure
Doctoral students spanning across Harvard’s graduate and professional schools penned a letter in support of Practice of Public Philosophy Cornel R. West ’74, who recently threatened a second departure from the University after he said the administration dismissed his request to be considered for tenure.