Quote of note:

Still, the preeminence of African-American studies at Harvard has been threatened in recent years by a stream of departures from the department.

The stormiest was that of Cornel West, who left for Princeton in 2002 after a confrontation with Summers early in the president's tenure. The same year, another celebrated professor, K. Anthony Appiah, also left for Princeton.

Last fall, sociologist Lawrence Bobo and his wife, Marcyliena Morgan, accepted jobs at Stanford after Summers denied Morgan tenure, despite the unanimous support of her department.

Their departure prompted Michael C. Dawson, a close collaborator of Bobo's, to accept a position at the University of Chicago.

...but

''The core faculty are the strongest of any African-American studies department in the country," said Manning Marable, who founded Columbia's African-American studies program. ''That's just a fact."

Harvard's Gates to step down as department head

By Marcella Bombardieri, Globe Staff  |  April 16, 2005

Henry Louis Gates Jr., the star professor who built Harvard University's African and African American studies department into a powerhouse, is planning to step down after 15 years as chairman of the department.

Gates said his plan to leave the post on July 1, 2006, is not related to the loss of three of the department's scholars this year or to the controversy over the leadership of Harvard president Lawrence H. Summers.

But Gates's retirement from the chairmanship may make it more difficult for Harvard to overcome the impression that the department has lost its luster.