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Earlier this semester, Harvard â and many pockets of the academic world â erupted in controversy after Professor Cornel R. West â74 threatened to leave Harvard for the second time, after the University allegedly denied his request to be considered for tenure.
Ultimately, West â a Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy at the Harvard Divinity School and of African and African American Studies in the FAS â did elect to leave Harvard, departing for Union Theological Seminary in New York. West, however, is just one of many Black faculty in recent years who have decided to leave Harvard.
Indeed, Dean of the Faculty of the Arts and Sciences Claudine Gay said in a March faculty meeting that, despite the best efforts of University leaders, Black academics at Harvard face âparticular challengesâ in addition to already-rigorous teaching and research responsibilities.