Council Meets With Afro-Am Junior Faculty, May Create Temporary Governing Committee

The Faculty Council on Wednesday discussed with junior faculty members in the Afro-American Studies Department a proposal to set up a temporary executive committee of senior Faculty members to govern the department.

Harrington Benjamin, assistant professor of Afro-American Studies, said yesterday the Council did not reach a decision, but he expected it would come to an agreement by the end of this academic year.

If the Council decides to form the executive committee, the group could start operating as early as next fall, Benjamin said.

Outsiders

The committee would include the two senior Faculty members in the Afro-Am Department and other outside senior Faculty members appointed by Dean Rosovsky.

Junior Faculty members in the department have considered calling for such a committee as a way to strengthen the department since last December, but only in recent weeks have they discussed it with Dean Rosovsky, Benjamin said.

Rosovsky declined to comment yesterday. Council members also declined to comment until the issue is resolved.

The executive committee would assume responsibility for the hiring of junior and senior Faculty members in the department, Benjamin said.

The committee would function until it adequately strengthened the department by appointing a sufficient number of senior Faculty, Benjamin said. At that point the senior Faculty members of the department would again resume sole control. Benjamin said it was still unclear how Rosovsky would determine when the department had reached that point.

Skeptical

Benjamin said the junior Faculty members would not take a position on the committee proposals until Rosovsky outlined the specifies involved. "We greet such an idea with extreme skepticism," he added.

Other junior Faculty members contacted yesterday declined to comment.

The junior Faculty also want assurance that the committee would consult them before making appointment decisions, he added.

Rosovsky has not yet said how he would choose Faculty members to sit on the committee. Benjamin said. "We are fearful that people will be brought in who have no understanding of Afro-Amer can Studies," he said.

Benjamin said, however, the junior faculty favored the proposal as a way to "broaden tenured leadership" in the department.

Eileen J. Southern, chairman of Afro-American Studies, now makes all hiring decisions. She is on leave this semester. Ewart Guinier '33, professor of Afro-American Studies and the other tenured member in the department, is semiretired.