Burkett says it would be a "great pleasure" to have Gates at the institute, particularly for the "higher visibility" he would bring.

Despite the hoopla around the possibility of a Gates appointment, some scholars are skeptical about Harvard's overall strategy for Afro-Am. Charshee Lawrence-McIntyre, a professor of English at the State University of New York at Old Westbury, says she questions the way Harvard and the nation's other top schools try to build their departments by landing one big name professor.

"Skip is a good scholar, I have no qualms about his work," says Lawrence-McIntyre. "[But] I am perplexed that the Ivy League schools can only find one person to pass around. I know they are overlooking a tremendous pool of scholars."

And it is true that Gates gives off the impression of being "passed around." Gates began his career as an assistant professor at Yale University before taking a tenured position at Cornell University. From Cornell, Gates moved to Duke.

But in addition to these moves, Gates has kept other schools, including Stanford University and Princeton, hanging in midair while he mulled their offers before finally rejecting them.

This kind of waiting has created some concern within Harvard, where observers say the University cannot afford to finish the year without results. Indeed, the University expects a response by February 2.

Still, there is strong belief that Gates will come to Harvard. It is a move that most scholars, outside of Raleigh, N.C., say would be the best, not only for Gates and Harvard, but for the whole field of Afro-American studies.

Says Princeton professor and author Toni Morrison: "It's a perfect marriage.