[Y]

Dean Bundy

- 6 -

June 8, 1954

Part of the trouble may be that the Society as now constituted is too large and contributes to the illusion that great things can be achieved by committees. But whatever the cause, a revitalization of the Society or the creation of a sister organisation seems to me the task of a small committee, the smaller the better, under your chairmanship or at least under someone who is imaginative and energetic. The members of this group should charge themselves with attracting the best under-graduates into graduate work and each member should make himself personally responsible for the work of two or three of these students. Periodically, there might be meetings to read papers and discussions. These discussions should be carefully prepared and above all toughly chaired to avoid the obsequious orthodoxy of the ordinary seminar. Occasional guest-lecturers will not suffice; indeed they merely contribute to the deadening formalism. The need is for a forum which encourages thought and permits its discussion. All of this can easily be integrated within the present framework of the Society, but not within its recent mode of operation.

But it will be unrealistic to look for a substantial change in the relationship between the senior faculty and the graduate student until the system of selection is stripped of its degrading elements which bid fair to drain all but the most insensitive by the time they reach permanent status. It would be futile to deny that appointment to the Harvard Faculty represents the goal of all the better graduate students. Not only the excellent library facilities and the extraordinary student body but its freedom and tolerance place Harvard in a class by itself and create a tremendous gap between it and any possible alternative. It is only natural therefore that appointment should be eagerly striven for, and that Harvard should seek its man rather than the man the job. But if you look at the same proposition from the point of view of the junior faculty member, you will see before him a stretch of eight years when he should be at the height of his power but during which all his energies are devoted either to a tense production for the sake of amassing titles or an obsequious flattery of senior members or both, none the less depressing for being accomplished with the pretense of genteel disinterest. It may be argued that this is part of the apprenticeship, but an apprenticeship which atrophies the very qualities it should develop is a malfunction. For when the great prize is finally attained and the permanent appointment in hand, it happens all too often that it has become meaningless. The incommensurability between reality and our expectations is of course a problem of all life; but nowhere have I seen it more poignantly than here at Harvard. Nowhere have I seen so many serious people so oppressed by a feeling of inadequacy. Who knows how many dreams were buried on the road between the first Teaching Fellowship and the Associate Professorship? Certainly the lack of interest I mentioned above is largely the result of personal insecurity. I should be interested to see a comparison between the achievements of those who obtained permanency either by appointment from the outside or by being advanced rapidly compared to those who went "through the mill," but I can make a shrewd guess.

ment "strongly the will," but I can make a strong case.
from the outside or by being advanced rapidly compared to those who
achieve them. Of these who obtained permanency either by appointment
insecurity. I should be interested to see a comparison between the
risk of interest I mentioned above if largely the result of personal
teaching fellowship and the Associate Professorship. Certainly the
who knew how many dreams were palled on the road between the first
seen so many serious people so обbreased by a feeling of insecurity.
have I seen it more distinctly than here at Harvard. Somewhere here I
and om expectations is of course a problem of all file; but nowhere
it has become meaningless. The incommensurability between reality
depending for being accomplished with the pretence of feeling dis-
or an operation. Unfettered of senior members or both, none the less
voted either to a tense production for the sake of measuring titles
at the height of his power, but doing which all his energies are de-
lay will see before him a stretch of eight years when he should be
same proportion from the point of view of the junior faculty member,
seek its man rather than the man the top. But it may look at the
appointment should be eagerly stricken for, and that Harvard should
and any desirable alternative. It is only natural therefore that
Harvard in a class by itself and create a tremendous gap between it
the extraordinary student body, put its freedom and tolerance face
graduate students. Not only the excellent library facilities and
ment to the Harvard faculty represents the key of all the better
they reach permanent status. It would be unwise to deny that abbot-
which did fair to gain all put the most incentive by the time
the relationship between the senior faculty and the graduate student
But it will be unnefarious to look for a substantial change in
Society, but not within its recent mode of operation.
this can easily be integrated within the present framework of the
a form which encompasses thought and permits its discussion. Will of
they merely contribute to the degradingTomism. The need is for
ordinary seminar. Occasional great-lecturers will not anticeip; indeed
above all thoroughly confined to avoid the operations orthodoxy of the
and discussions. These discussions should be carefully prepared and
these students periodically, there might be meetings to read papers
make himself personally reasonable for the work of two or three of
ing the best under-graduates into graduate work and each member should
the members of this group should change themselves with attract-
chairmen and at least under someone who is imaginative and energetic.
the task of a small committee, the smaller the better, under your
of the Society on the creation of a larger organization seems to me
be achieved by committees. But whatever the cause, a revitalization
is too large and contributes to the inflation that great things can
part of the trouble may be that the Society as now constituted

Dean Bumby

- 6 -

June 8, 1964

[4]

[Y]

Dean Bundy

- 7 -

June 8, 1954

Again my proposals will be paltry but they are the best that occur to me right now. They are twofold: (a) The removal of the appointing power from the departments to the Dean or to the President; (b) The elimination of the uncertainty among junior faculty members by making the appointment to an Assistant Professorship tantamount to a permanent appointment. If the appointing power were removed from the departments, the unseemingly struggle to come to the attention of senior faculty members by means of social relationships and sterile orthodoxy would be minimized. The Dean and the President aided by such committees are sufficiently far removed not to be susceptible to petty pressures. On the other hand the departments might appreciate having the onus of a difficult decision taken from their shoulders. It can never be easy for them to reject for permanent appointment a man whom they have known as student and colleague for a decade. Above all, once a department has reached a certain level of mediocrity, the present system tends to its perpetuation. I do not doubt that so drastic a proposal will be strongly resisted. As an alternative, it might prove possible to create a few chairs in each department the appointment to which is reserved for the Dean or to the President. This would give the Dean and the President an opportunity to introduce new blood and mitigate against the natural trend towards conformity.

My second proposal is equally important: if junior faculty members could be assured that an Assistant Professorship was tantamount to a permanent appointment a great deal of their tenseness and solipsism would disappear and with it the vicious struggle for courses, administrative positions, etc. Then while they are still imaginative and energetic they might devote their energies to what really interests them rather than to what they think will impress their seniors. I have no doubt that it will be claimed that this proposal does not allow a sufficiently long testing period. But the British universities follow the system embodied in my suggestion and British intellectual production does not, to put it mildly, compare unfavorably with ours. Nor do present teaching loads and other pressures permit any really substantial achievement during the period of the Assistant Professorship. Any survey will, I am sure, bear this out.

There are many more refinements I might add to both my analysis and my proposals, but the letter is already too long. May I therefore conclude with a few personal observations: This is not a personal complaint. I have suffered less than most from the conditions I described except in so far as I am disturbed by the prevailing atmosphere. I have not canvassed anybody in preparing this letter and it is therefore possible, although I confess unlikely, that my interpretation of chance remarks extending over a period of months is incorrect. In any case, this letter reflects the atmosphere in my own circle of acquaintances, and it may therefore be much more an indictment of me than of the conditions I describe. I have no doubt that you will find many individuals who take issue with me. I am fully aware that in writing to you I may overstep my bounds. Yet I also believe that if my analysis is even partly correct, I should be willing to stand up for it. If

is even partly correct. I should be willing to stand by for it. It
to him I may overstate my pounds. Yet I also believe that if my anafelse
individuals who take issue with me, I am fully aware that in writing
the conditions I describe. I have no doubt that you will find many
senses, and it may, therefore, be much more an indictment of me than of
cause, this latter reflects the atmosphere in my own circle of students
I have not canvassed anybody in preparing this letter and it is there-
fore possible, although I could not unreasonably, that my interpretation of
the above, would be wrong, as I am disappointed by the prevailing atmosphere.
complain. I have antlered less than most from the conditions I des-
confine with a few personal observations: This is not a personal
and my proposals, put the letter is already too long. May I therefore
There are many more retirements I might add to both my anafelse
and myself, and I will, I am sure, bear this out.

And amply will I, am sure, bear this out.

Ampliational achievement during the period of the Assistant Professor-
ctor go present teaching loads and other breames permit and really
production does not, to but it widely, compare favorably with ours.

Follow the alatom encoded in my angulation and British intefunctional
allow a sufficiently long testing period. But the British universities
have no doubt that it will be claimed that this proposal does not
them rather than to what they think will impress their seniors. I
energetic they might devote their energies to what really interests
theative portions, etc. Then while they are still imaginative and
would disappear and with it the victors struggle for comee,逊-
minus a permanent appointment a great deal of their teneness and softbass
could be seemed that an Assistant Professorship was tantamount to
My second proposal is equally important: it Junior Tenuty mempers
new proof and mitigate against the natural trend towards conformity.

would give the Dean and the President an opportunity to introduce
appointment to which is reserved for the Dean or the President. This
it might prove desirable to create a few chairs in each department the
so chaotic a proposal will be strongly resented. As an alternative,
the present alatom tends to its berpetuation. I do not doubt that
Vope all, once a department has reached a certain level of mediocrity,
a man whom they have known as student and colleague for a decade.
It can never be easy for them to reject for permanent appointment
having the onus of a difficult decision taken from their shoulders.
Better breames. On the other hand the departments might abrogate
committees are sufficiently large removed not to be an subject to
quickly would be minimized. The Dean and the President aided by adequate
tenuty mempers by means of social relations and a sterile ortho-
ments, the seemingly strange to come to the attention of senior
appointment. If the appointing power were removed from the depart-
the appointment to an Assistant Professorship tangential of a permanent
elimination of the uncertainty among junior faculty mempers by making
it up power from the departments to the Dean or to the President; (p) The
to me right now. They are two fold: (a) The removal of the appoint-
Again my proposals will be harshy put they are the best that occur

Dean Bungy

- 7 -

June 8, 1964

[A]

[N]

Dean Bundy

- 8 -

June 8, 1954

this letter will prove of any use to you, it will be through the
frankest description of an aspect of Harvard life that you perhaps
never fully experienced. I would also like to repeat that my criticisms
are in no sense directed against Harvard alone or even primarily.
Indeed, it is precisely because Harvard stands for so much today and
because everything depends on maintaining our standards and values
that I am writing this letter. Great institutions can run a long time
on momentum. But there may also occur times of crisis in which modes
of operation adequate to safer periods no longer suffice.

I cannot of course ask you to accept my conclusions. But I do
hope you will understand how difficult it was to write this letter
and that I did not write it lightly.

Henry A. Klaasen

Hope you will understand how difficult it was to write this letter. I cannot assure you to accept my confessions. But I do of operation adequate to earlier periods no longer antecedent.

on momentum. But there may also occur times of crisis in which modes that I am writing this letter. Great institutions can run a four time because everything depends on maintaining our standards and values. Indeed, it is precisely because Harvard stands for so much today and are in no sense directed against Harvard alone or even primarily. Never fully experienced. I would also like to repeat that my criteria是最准的 description of an aspect of Harvard life that you perhaps this letter will prove of any use to you, it will be through the

Dear Bungy

June 8, 1954

- 2 -

[Y]

further and grant you that the atmosphere at other universities I am familiar
with is even worse. But this is small consolation. A lesser evil is still
an evil and ameliorated despair is not happiness. Among all my friends
here at Harvard, there is not one who has a meaningful alternative, but
there is also not one who is proud of or even satisfied with his condition.
An acquaintance who has successfully taught a large General Education
course and will now begin to lecture in his department told me when I com-
plemented him on his achievement: "And still I never feel the need of in-
viting any friends to show Harvard off...because above all there is no
joy." Another, a senior tutor of one of the HAKEN houses, cannot conduct
a conversation without discussing his "escape" from here, an attitude which
becomes all the more pathetic because it is clear that he will never do so.
A third, up for an assistant professorship next year and reasonably cer-
tain of obtaining it, is frantically looking for another job as "the only
means of maintaining his self-respect." And I, too, have seriously thought
of giving up the academic career and going to Law School.

It can not be superficial factors which cause these feelings. Nobody
AN EASY MANNER EVEN likes to consider giving up activity which in itself is, so worthwhile, and
ANOTHER factor which represents the investment of nearly a decade. Nor is the demoraliza-
tion due to material factors, however inappropriate they may be.
I have heard you say that the quality of
graduate students would improve if they see an income of $20,000 as the
 goal of their effort. I doubt this seriously. The academic profession will
 remain unattractive whatever its salary scale until a beginning is made to
 reform some of its present attitudes. Salary is not the only or even
 the chief determinant in the choice of careers and even if it were, the
 present financial position of most universities does not permit a serious
 revision of their wage scales. At least as important as income is the
 sense of achievement that goes with the recognition of one's professional
group, the sense of community engendered by shared activity in a worthwhile
effort, the sense of challenge which is inseparable from the accomplishment

- 4 -

[Y]

But it is not criticism that one requires, so much as encouragement. A
half-hour appointment with an individual who tensely performs his duty but
is essentially *independent* does not supply an incentive for major efforts.
I personally cannot complain on this score. But a friend of mine, a junior
faculty member, has told me that in seven years at Harvard his supervisor
and now colleague has not once asked him what he was working on. And his
experience is not untypical, ~~it is close to the average for mine.~~

The results are what may be expected. Since there does not exist a
community *inwardly* interested in each other's growth, each individual stakes
out his field within the tenacity of a gold-mine prospector and guards it
with a commensurate jealousy. The quest for *veritas* has become not an
adventure but a competition to produce some nuggets which are "new," the
*criterion* most easily grasped by the disinterested. The isolation is almost
complete. At best one knows the subject-matter one's colleagues are in-
vestigating; it is almost unheard-of that there occurs a substantive dis-
cussion. *I have asked most of my acquaintances whether they know one person
here whom they would dare to call with the news that they had just had a
brilliant idea and would like to discuss it.* The answer was almost invariably
*immediately w DRAINING PROCESS*
in the negative. *This graduate study becomes a descending CURVE* (in which
the sense of excitement of one's undergraduate and early graduate efforts is
gradually being dissipated. Intellectual effort is transformed from a
challenge into a technique. *Gone is the sense of power which accompanied
one's early productions. Instead in an atmosphere of solipsism, standards
tend either to dissolve or come to seem unattainable. Just because no
real interest exists, reputations are built on a series of myths which both
over- and under- praise and in any case are only accidentally related to any
concrete achievement. Few people know what anyone has accomplished; but
everyone knows what the "eagles" think one has accomplished. This gives
rise to a type becoming more prevalent with each year that I have been in

- 6 -

[N]

mass-production denied of all creativity. Any junior faculty member faced with the choice of writing a potentially great work over a 6-year period or several pedantic disquisitions and articles will unhesitatingly choose the second alternative.

The system of cooptation by the departments compounds the problem both the permanent and the junior for/faculty members. It is almost too much to expect a dissociation between the social/contacts and the academic achievements when the final decision is being taken. Whether it is or not, there exists an almost general belief that personal relationships and staying power are the prime requisites for a permanent appointment. As a consequence life among the junior faculty members has all the characteristics of an absolute monarchy. Individuals obtain prestige by the degree of their assumed proximity to the throne, in the happy phraseology of some departments by the number of "eagles" they know. They live in tormenting uncertainty about their fate which is merely the reverse side of a growing sense of personal insignificance. The conversations among this "community of scholars" is revealing: it is confined almost entirely to departmental politics, to denigrating others which is a means of salving one's self-esteem and to determining the trends of favors to be bestowed. In such an atmosphere every gesture becomes significant and the cause of endless analysis: a chance remark by a professor, a frown or even silence. I know two individuals in our department who refuse to have any social contact within the department precisely because they can no longer stand INEVITABLES to take this gossip. All this gives rise to an atmosphere almost certain to produce mediocrity; an atmosphere above all to which a first-rate man will expose himself with decreasing frequency. It measures all actions by their "utilitarian" aspect in terms of personal advancement and it seeks advancement by reducing the academic profession to a trade. You may recall a discussion between ourselves regarding tutorial at a faculty meeting shortly after you had been appointed departmental CHAIRMAN. I forget the pre-

- 7 -

[Y]

a junior faculty member,
nature of our dispute, but upon its conclusion one of our colleagues came up
to me and put this question: "Tell me Henry, what did you really think when
you argued with Mac?" The particular remark is an indictment only of the
person who made it. But that it could be made at all is an indictment of
a state of mind which is pervasive.

I have said enough, I think, to indicate what the problem is, although
I fear that it may seem exaggerated. I have purposely omitted mentioning
some of the compensating features, in order to keep this letter within
tolerable bounds, and because I suspect that you are quite familiar with
them anyhow. I am moreover suffering under the handicap that my descrip-
tion of the condition will have to remain more complete than any remedies
I might propose, that many of the remedies are palliatives only, partly
because the problem is connected with those of our whole cultural situation,
partly because contrary to the classic Rationalist tenet, recognition of
a dilemma does not always ensure its solution. Nevertheless I should like
to advance a few proposals for your consideration!

If my analysis is correct, then two related steps seem indicated: an
attempt to increase the sense of community and an alteration in the system
of making appointments. Unless intellectual effort can again be infused
with a challenge even the most talented graduate student or junior faculty
member will atrophy. Unless his isolation can be overcome, energies will be
wasted in a sterile and vicious competition for attainment of "formal"
achievements: courses, personal acquaintance with senior faculty members, etc.
Now I am sufficiently a conservative to know that a spirit can not be
brought about by an act-of-will. Any improvement will have to be gradual
and must reflect the spirit of Harvard. But it should be possible to devise
institutions which place a premium on reflection and intellectual attainment
instead of on academic "operating." May be a partial answer could be found
in a series of interdepartmental seminars to which appointment would be a

distinction, perhaps in the creation of a body similar to the Institute of
led by the Dean or the President
Advanced Study but confined to junior faculty members obliged to meet together.

Of course, the Society of Fellows could furnish the nucleus of such a group.
But I think it is safe to say that the Society reflects, rather than helps
to overcome the existing malaise. It is striking to observe how little
cross-fertilization occurs within the Society at the moment and how negligible
is the impact of all but a few of the Senior Fellows. Moreover recent
appointments tend to reflect the quest for the "safe and sane" and balanced
man, which is the bane of all our culture. Of the three Junior Fellows
among those appointed this year whom I know I look in vain for a sign of
inspiration. Two of them I should have thought below the criteria for nomination and none in the class of say Karl Kaysen or Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
Not that they are bad; they are simply plausible and mediocre; they have
reached their level and the Society will do nothing for them except to
increase their material comfort.

Part of the trouble may be that the Society as now constituted is too
large and contributes to the illusion that great things can be achieved by
committees. But whatever the cause, a revitalization of the Society or the
creation of a sister organisation seems to me the task of a small committee,
and the smaller the better, under your chairmanship or at least under someone
who is imaginative and energetic. The members of this group should
charge themselves with attracting the best under-graduates into graduate
work and each member should make himself personally responsible for the
work of two or three of these students. Periodically, there might be meetings
to read papers and discussions. It will not be sufficient to have occasional
will not suffice, indeed they need to contribute to the learning of the foundation
guest-lecturers, but it will be necessary to create a forum which both en-
The need is for a forum which will encourage thought and permits discussion,
courages new thought and permits its discussion. All of this can easily
be integrated within the present framework of the Society, but not within
its recent mode of operation.

These discussions should be carefully prepared and have all truly tried to
avoid the obsequious tendency of the arbitrary manner.

But it will be unrealistic to look for a substantial change in the relationship between the senior faculty and the graduate student until the system of selection is stripped of its degrading elements which bid fair to drain all but the strongest by the time they reach permanent status. It would be futile to deny that appointment to the Harvard Faculty represents the goal of all the better graduate students. Not only the excellent library facilities and the extraordinary student body but the freedom and tolerance place Harvard in a class by itself and create a tremendous gap between it and any possible alternative. It is only natural therefore that appointment should be eagerly sought and that Harvard should seek its man rather than the man the job. But if you look at the same proposition from the point of view of the junior faculty member, you will see before him a stretch of 8 years when he should be at the height of his power while all his energies are devoted either to a tense production for the sake of amassing titles or an obsequious flattery of senior members of both, none the less depressing for being accomplished with pretense of genteel disinterest. It may be argued that this is part of the apprenticeship, but an apprenticeship which atrophies the very qualities it should develop is a malfunction. For when the great prize is finally attained and the permanent appointment in hand, it happens all too often that it has become meaningless. The incommensurability between reality and our expectations is of course a problem of all life; but nowhere have I seen it more poignantly than here at Harvard. Who knows how many dreams were buried on the road between the first Teaching Fellowship and the Associate Professorship? I should be interested to see a comparison between the achievements of those who obtained permanency either by appointment from the outside or by being advanced rapidly compared to those who went "through the mill," but I know can make a shrewd guess.

- 11 -

[Y]

Harvard, or even primarily,

it alone. Indeed, it is precisely because Harvard stands for so much today and because everything depends on hardworking maintaining our standards and values that I am writing this letter. Great institutions can run a long time on momentum. But there may also occur times of crisis in which modes of operation adequate to safer periods no longer suffice.

I cannot of course ask you to accept my conclusions, but I do hope to appear to you some knowledge of me for understanding, and that you will understand how difficult it was to write this letter, and that I did not write it lightly.

Sincerely yours,

Sincerely,

Beat regards.

makes any sense at all?
think my analysis of the new nuclear strategy
in your reaction to it. I wonder whether you
have to write a peek. I would be very interested
mistrat factory, put to say more, one would perhaps
rather lengthy affair which I still find fairly
down a few impreasions and would up with this
original document. At any rate, I began to get
brothers and Paul Nitzs. You may have seen the
a three cornered discussion between him, the Alaoa
I got drawn by Arthur Schleinger, Jr. into

Dear McGeorge:

University Hall 2
Dean McGeorge Bndy

September 16, 1964