CAMPUS INSIDER
Right man for the job? That's an affirmative
12/14/2003
Harvard Law School professor Christopher Edley Jr., who just accepted the deanship of the law school at the University of California at Berkeley, was the architect of Bill Clinton's "mend it, don't end it" defense of affirmative action, and cofounder of the Civil Rights Project at Harvard. So one might not think that he would be the first choice of Ward Connerly, a member of the University of California's Board of Regents and one of America's most prominent opponents of affirmative action. But Edley said last week that Connerly, the prime mover behind California's ban on affirmative action, encouraged him to take the job. The two men got to respect each other as debate adversaries, said Edley. "As I became a finalist I got an e-mail from [Connerly] saying how enthusiastic he was about my candidacy," Edley said. "It was meaningful to me. We obviously share a lot of goals in terms of excellence." Connerly said that Edley was the best person for the job, and that the two men's views are not as far apart as it might seem. "Besides, I've got an ace card on all of this," Connerly said. "The Constitution of California is behind me and as a lawyer, he doesn't want to go to jail by breaking the law."
JANUARY IN CAMBRIDGE?: One of Harvard's peculiarities is its split fall semester, with finals taking place after New Year's, up to a month after classes end. As part of its curriculum review, Harvard has been discussing the idea of a standardized calendar shared by the college and professional schools -- which would mean undergraduates don't have to cram under the Christmas tree. It also has led a faculty committee to bring up the idea of a "4-1-4" schedule with a month-long January term between the two traditional semesters. A number of New England's liberal arts colleges already have adopted the so-called J-Term -- at Amherst College, students can do everything from math review to exploring the campus steam tunnels. Though the winter session is sometimes derided as a chance to goof off, Harvard professor Richard Losick said it could provide an ideal vehicle for intensive lab work, language study, drama workshops, or foreign travel. "This is limited only by one's imagination," he said.
NO MARSHALLS FOR HARVARD: For the first time since the Marshall Scholarships were established in 1953, Harvard failed to bring in one of the prestigious awards to study in Great Britain. Williams won two Marshalls, while Wellesley, Boston College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute each got one. The honor was particularly sweet for BC, which is basking in its first two Rhodes Scholarships this year. Thomas Kempa, the BC winner and a physics major, gave BC some of the credit for his award. "In some of the other universities that compete with us across the river, there are so many good students it's hard for everyone to be noticed," he said. "Here there's tremendous support for undergraduates who want careers in science."
P.S.: Berklee College of Music has other honors to tout, namely, the 14 Grammy nominations recently given to 12 alumni and one faculty member. They include two members of the band Train, nominated for best rock song; recording engineer and mixer Tony Maserat, a triple nominee who worked on Beyonce's "Crazy in Love;" and Susan Tedeschi, a three-time nominee up for best contemporary blues album. Winners will be announced in February.
CLIMBING FOR DOLLARS: College presidents weary of shaking hands at alumni club cocktail parties shouldn't complain to Nancy Hensel, the 60-year-old president of the University of Maine at Presque Isle. Hensel will try to climb 22,834-foot Mount Aconcagua in South America next month, a 17-day extreme fund-raiser meant to draw donations for a new health and physical education complex. "This climb is a stretch for me," Hensel said in a press release. "I am not an athlete. I was always picked last for the softball team. The school hopes the trek will help bring in the final $2 million needed for the $9 million building.
Marcella Bombardieri and Jenna Russell of the Globe staff compiled this report. Tip? Question? E-mail campus@globe.com.
© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.
