Inclusive Scholarship: Developing Black Studies - Ford Foundation

Inclusive Scholarship: Developing Black Studies in the United States 181
should ensure the fiscal well-being of the unit generally and of the fellows
programs specifically. The curriculum continues to expand as well. Indeed,
a proposal for a Ph.D. in the field has been generated and might soon lead
to a new degree program in the department.
Reviewers’ Recommendations
There is cause for concern on a number of fronts. Should the aforementioned
proposal for a degree program be approved, the already strained faculty
resources in Afro-American Studies would be burdened even further.
Given the relatively small size of the department, the departure of one or
two faculty members could have a disproportionately negative impact. In
terms of junior faculty, the recent tenuring of Professor J. Lorand “Randy”
Matory, an anthropologist, is a positive development. However, the pattern
for building departments at Harvard continues to involve primarily hiring
at the top. This strategy has apparently worked thus far in the case of Afro-
American Studies; however, only time will prove the long-term viability of
this approach. What is clear is that few other universities in the country can
afford to follow Harvard’s lead in this regard.
As to the representation of women among the senior faculty of Afro-
American Studies (as among the faculty at Harvard generally), with historian
Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham the only African American female, the matter
deserves aggressive attention. Afro-American Studies had sought to make
Lani Guinier’s appointment to the Law School a joint one; however, the Law
School policy of maintaining full control over this FTE blocked this attempt.
Guinier does serve, however, on the Advisory Board of the Du Bois Institute.
Finally, as is the case at most of the other institutions under review,
one confronts the inevitable dilemma of leadership. When Professor Gates
steps down from one or both of his administrative positions with Afro-
American Studies and the Du Bois Institute, will there be faculty members
ready to come forward and carry on the ambitious program that he and his
colleagues have put into motion? In sum, regardless of the direction that
African American Studies as a field takes at Harvard, the current status and
visibility of the department and the Du Bois Institute are unquestioned.