Some visiting professors, including Knowles himself, do work so interesting that their colleagues eventually propose they join the tenured ranks of the Faculty.

Finding Visitors

Because of the constant interaction among academics, Faculty members and administrators say, word of possible visiting positions circulates through a world-wide grapevine.

"Classics is a small world," Coleman says, who explained that word of mouth played a role in her invitation to spend this year visiting Harvard.

"There's sort of a network of people who talk to one another," says Visiting Professor Eric Yesson. "When there's a job opening, word gets around."

According to Thompson, the FAS administration plays a small role in locating prospective visiting professors.

"Visiting professors are found through suggestions from faculty in conjunction with the chair," says Nancy B. Shafman, administrator of the Music Department, which has five visiting professors and two endowed lecturers this year.

Back To Cambridge

For some professors, visiting Harvard for a semester is a return to their past.

Elhanan Helpman, a visiting professor of economics who teaches at Tel Aviv University in Israel, did graduate work at Harvard.

Helpman, who taught a fall graduate seminar as well as Economics 1542: "International Trade Policy" this semester, has served as a visiting professor at Harvard twice before.

"I have many friends here, and at the moment Harvard has the best economics department," he says.

Visiting Professor of German Gail Finney says her fond memories of Harvard aided her decision to spend a sabbatical term here.

Finney, who taught in the German Department as an assistant and associate professor between 1980 and 1988, is visiting from the University of California-Davis, where she is a professor of German and comparative literature.

"I liked Harvard very much," she says of her time as a Faculty member. "The students, my colleagues, Harvard's standards, Harvard Square and Boston. Hence I did not hesitate when invited back for a term."