Word: isaac
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...experience of former Associate Professor Ephraim Isaac epitomizes this struggle. The first associate professor in the newly created Afro-American Studies department in 1969, Ethiopian-born Isaac designed some of the first core courses in the department. The courses included “Black Civilization”, “An Introduction to African Languages”, “Introductions to African Religions and Philosophies,” and “A History of Slavery.” It was understood, according to Isaac, that the courses would focus on topics not only centered around the United States...
...Isaac was put up for tenure as a professor in Afro-American studies along with two other professors but—unlike them—he was not up for a joint appointment. The other two professors were eventually given tenure while Isaac was denied a position. According to Isaac, this reflected a desire on the part of University administrators to shift the focus of the department away from African studies...
...design in a way on the part of some University leadership to demote the department to a program. You see, the original plan in the sixties was never to have a department but just to have a committee for African American studies and African studies,” Isaac recalls...
...sparking controversy for its recommendation to change the status of Afro-American Studies. This prompted Ewart Guinier, the department’s first chair, to argue that then-Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) Henry Rosovsky was trying to weaken the department by refusing tenure to Isaac and by insisting that only joint appointees (that is, professors who were not solely tied to the Afro-American Studies department) receive tenure...
...April of 1982, Harvard alumni got involved with the cause as well. The Alumni Committee to Support Afro-American Studies was formed, with support by the Black Students Association. The group sponsored rallies throughout the spring and used Isaac’s case as a cause celebre, arguing that Isaac should be reinstated at the University due to his stellar teaching record, the popularity of his classes, and his commitment to studying African history and culture. The group argued that the tenure denial was a political act, meant to force the department away from its “African roots...