Wolff says several new tenure appointments, including that of associate professor Alyssa Goodman, have indicated that "the climate is changing." The visiting committees' conclusion, Wolff says, was "The department is doing the best it can."
Glass Ceiling?
She is one of the most distinguished faculty members in the astronomy department, having won a MacArthur "Genius grant" in 1990. She holds two honorary degrees and the Newcomb Cleveland Prize from the American Astronomical Society. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 1992--one of only two females at Harvard in the NAS.
Yet she does not have tenure.
Ever since she was appointed an assistant professor (the lowest rung in the professorial ladder of assistant, associate, and full professorships) in 1980, Geller's tenure has been a point of contention at the CFA.
In the spring of 1997, Dean Jeremy Knowles offered Geller a Mallinckrodt chair, one of the more prestigious titles in the department.
The offer came with a caveat, however: she would still not be a tenured professor. Eight other professors, all males, hold the Mallinckrodt chair. All eight men have tenure.
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