Word: letters
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...credit, the blind letter system ensures anonymity in the often politically tense tenure process. But the system mandates the evaluation of faculty who are not in consideration along with the actual candidate—inundating the evaluators with superfluous information and hindering the review. The system could also theoretically lead to bias—candidates could be listed against individuals of unequal qualification, stacking the deck and generating unconstructive comparisons...
Fortunately, at last week’s Faculty meeting, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences William C. Kirby announced an alteration to the tenure process—replacing the current blind letter with a request for a more direct evaluation that lists multiple candidates but mentions the one that is under serious consideration. Though not finalized, this long-awaited change will improve the tenure process with greater transparency and efficiency...
...naming the candidate, the new evaluation request should counteract many of the shortcomings of the blind letter system. Evaluators will have more room to comment upon the work of the candidate—without the distraction or hindrance of time spent on irrelevant evaluations. The additional transparency will also allow Harvard to request outside feedback on internal candidates—the committee would be able to send the work of less-well-known associate professors out for review...
...agreement between Harvard and the city would include a new zoning plan for the area as well as a “letter of commitment” in which the University would agree to concessions for the neighborhood, including providing affordable housing for city residents and donating space for public parks, in return for more generous limits on the heights it can build on its property...
...Monday we will have a finished, very creative piece of zoning,” he said. He added that the letter of commitment would be available to the public today...