Cornel West, an activist and professor, is parting ways with Harvard University once again. In a resignation letter shared on social media, West cited „superficial …
Cornel West, an activist and professor, is parting ways with Harvard University once again. In a resignation letter shared on social media, West cited „superficial diversity“ and „political prejudices“ as reasons for leaving the Ivy League school. Monday night, West published his one-page letter, claiming that after 15 years teaching at Harvard, his tenure application was rejected. The letter was dated June 30. “We all knew the mendacious reasons given had nothing to do with academic standards. When my committee recommended a tenure review – also rejected by the Harvard administration – I knew my academic achievements and student teaching meant far less than their political prejudices,“ West wrote. West, who taught at Harvard’s law and divinity schools, as well as in its department of African and African American studies, said his colleagues were „paralyzed“ by the university’s rejection of his tenure. West tweeted he has been tenured at Yale, Princeton and Union Theological Seminary. Over the years, West has had a history of disagreeing with Harvard administrators. In 1993, he was offered tenure, then left the university in 2002 after a public spat with then-President Lawrence Summers.
