Word: wald
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...times Wald's preoccupation with the universal and his disinterest in the earthly annoys those with whom he works. A sectionman from one of his courses says Wald is not a harsh grader but is often unaware of Harvard's norms, once recommending a C median for an hourly--something the sectionman says "just isn't done here...
Harvard's nebulous tenure policy favors accomplished researchers, and its reputation often helps supply a national audience for its faculty members, but many published scholars fail in the classroom. Students, colleagues and critics agree that Wald, more than anything else, is a dedicated teacher who has the rare ability to present complex ideas on a sophisticated but understandable level. As with his science, Wald's teaching is not separated from his politics. In Natural Sciences 5. "The Nature of Living Things" (yes, he enjoys teaching undergraduates), Wald once burned a dollar bill during lecture and asked the class to explain...
Politics has become Wald's consuming interest, and while it has not reduced his effectiveness as a teacher, he says the ensuing commitments and pressures have "disrupted the continuity" of his life, making it more difficult to conduct research. It would be unfair to fault Wald for ignoring research in favor of politics, however, because as Mendelsohn notes, most biologists tend to produce their major work early in their career. Following Wald's perception of a scientist's role, his activism is not a substitute for research but its logical extension...
...Wald's political involvement has brought him numerous critics, especially within the Harvard community. After the University accepted a $1 million grant from South Korean businessmen allegedly connected with the Park regime, Wald publicly urged Harvard to return the money...
...faculty oversight committee approved recombinant DNA research--gene splicing--at Harvard, but Wald, placing what he saw to be the community interest over scientific advancement, brought the issue before the Cambridge City Council. Wald's vociferous protests before the council resulted in a temporary city-ordered ban on the research. One Harvard proponent of DNA research says, "Some faculty members feel that it was incessantly self-righteous of him to invoke Mayor Vellucci's help when he couldn't convince committee of his peers to stop the p-3 facility." (The p-3 facility is the laboratory, now under construction...