Coalition for a Diverse Harvard Announces Faculty Hire
Crimson | Meimei Xu
In a rare move, the Coalition for a Diverse Harvard, an advocacy group, took the lead in announcing the third professor hired to join Harvard in the FAS’ Ethnic Studies cluster hire. According to the Crimson, the announcement was made by the Coalition via a Tweet, with the FAS spokesperson declining to comment. The Coalition has made the establishment of a new Ethnic Studies Department central to its focus and demands of the University along with preserving racial preferences in Harvard admissions.
The Coalition does not fall under the HAA umbrella.
As the Crimson reports, “Jesse E. Hoffnung-Garskof ’93 will join Harvard’s faculty as the third professor to be brought in as part of an ethnic studies cluster hire initiative by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, according to the Coalition for a Diverse Harvard, which has advocated for the creation of an ethnic studies department… FAS spokesperson Rachael Dane declined to comment.”
Members of the cluster hire will help put structure around a proposed new Ethnic Studies department.
In their social media post regarding the hire, the Coalition wrote, “It's time for Harvard to commit resources for Profs. Hoffnung-Garskof, Erika Lee and Taeku Lee and existing colleagues to build an Ethic Studies department. We also call on the university to launch searches for the next hires immediately. #50YearsAndWaiting.”
This followed a post on the second in the cluster hire, Erika Lee—”Now we need at Ethnic Studies Department @Harvard. Prof. Lee is committed to helping to build an Ethnic Studies program at Harvard, as she did at the University of Minnesota, and we will continue to demand that Harvard provide her and her faculty colleagues the resources to do so. We also continue to demand that Harvard bring on Latinx and Muslim American Studies faculty, as outlined in the cluster-hire announcement.”
In a recent Crimson article, the Coalition’s co-founder explained that the Coalition believes “a commitment to an Ethnic Studies Department should be a job requirement for the next President of the University.”
Related—Background on Ethnic Studies
"What the Hell is Ethnic Studies?" Webinar for Harvard Alumni 8-12-20 (Coalition for a Diverse Harvard, August 2020)
The Four-Decade Road to Ethnic Studies (Crimson, 2017)
Related- Hires
Jesse Hoffnung-Garskof ’93 Joins Harvard as Third Professor in Ethnic Studies Cluster Hire (Crimson, July 2022)
Erika Lee to Join Harvard as Second Professor in Ethnic Studies Cluster Hire (Crimson, July 2022)
Taeku Lee to Join Harvard Faculty as First Professor in Ethnic Studies Cluster Hire (Crimson, April 2022)
Gay ‘Thrilled’ to Invite First Ethnic Studies Faculty, Expand Programs (Crimson, April 2022)
FAS ‘Actively Recruiting’ Four Ethnic Studies Scholars, Gay Says (Crimson, February 2022)
FAS Authorizes Three Ethnic Studies Faculty Candidates For Appointment (Crimson, December 2021)
FAS to Resume Ethnic Studies Faculty Search (Crimson, August 2021)
Gay Announces Plans to Hire New Ethnic Studies Faculty (Crimson, June 2019)—Dean of Arts and Humanities Robin Kelsey and Dean of Social Science Lawrence D. Bobo are overseeing the hiring effort alongside Gay.
New FAS Dean Gay Recruiting Faculty Who Study Race, Ethnicity (Crimson, October 2018)
Student and Alumni Groups Advocate for FAS Dean Who Will Prioritize Ethnic Studies (Crimson, June 2018)
