But then came Dr.West, the Alphonse Fletcher, Jr., University Professor at Harvard.
West and Summers came into conflict when the Harvard President questioned some of the professor’s non-scholarly pursuits. These included West’s role as political consultant to presidential aspirants Bill Bradley and Al Sharpton; his defense of Sean “P. Diddy” Combs during the rap impresario’s gun trial; and his recording of a spoken word/rap album entitled “Sketches of My Culture” while on a year’s medical leave from Harvard.
More important to Summers, however, were West’s inflationary grading practices. Summers also reportedly suggested to West that the professor should write “a major academic book,” to supplement his more publicity-oriented pursuits. In other words, Summers asked West to participate in a program of academic reform and accountability.
The Professor wouldn’t have any of it. Miffed at Summers’ reproach, West threatened to flee Harvard for the more hospitable climate of Princeton—and he wasn’t alone. African American studies department chair Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and African philosopher Anthony Appiah also suggested they would follow West if the offended professor were to leave.
Soon Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson arrived on the scene, investigating the possibility of racism on the Harvard campus. As Shelby Steele wrote in the Wall Street Journal, the “elaborate, if predictable, choreography of black indignation and white guilt” was now taking place.
Summers, accused of insufficient support for affirmative action, quickly issued a statement confirming his commitment to diversity and met with West to “mend fences.” The controversy seemed to be bottled up shortly after it had begun, with Summers’ surrender to the forces of political correctness. It appeared as though accountability and scholarship had taken a back seat to charges of racism and back-room academic politics.
It remains to be seen whether or not the episode with West will cool Summers’ passion for reform. Yet the episode clearly illustrates that genuine improvement of the academy is a difficult undertaking in the prima-donna universe of tenured professors. Where politics and ego trump any sentiment for what might be best for higher education. In this brave new academic world, professors seek out those schools where administrators will continue to pay big bucks while seeking little in return.