Another prof bolts Harvard African-American Studies dept

By Laura CrimaldiWednesday, April 6, 2005 - Updated: 01:39 PM ESTIn a continuing exodus from Harvard University's African-American Studies Department, professor Michael C. Dawson has announced his resignation, prompted in part by the departure of four other high-profile scholars. ``The research environment has changed since I first accepted the offer to Harvard,'' said Dawson, who added personal reasons also influenced his decision. ``I thought I would be able to work with, among others, Cornel West, Anthony Appiah, Lawrence Bobo and Marcyliena Morgan.'' Those scholars have left Harvard since Dawson joined the faculty in 2002. Bobo, who Dawson collaborated with in researching the electoral racial divide during the 2000 presidential election, left the faculty in January after university President Lawrence H. Summers denied his wife, Morgan, tenure. West departed for Princeton University in 2002 after a bitter public dispute with Summers. Appiah left for Princeton the same year, citing personal reasons. Dawson will return to the University of Chicago where he taught for 10 years. In a statement, William C. Kirby, dean of the faculty of arts and sciences, expressed sadness over Dawson's departure, describing him as an ``eminent political scientist.'' Source: http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=76775