Over a month ago, Berkowitz took the last step outlined in this official Harvard publication. He submitted a formal grievance to an elected three-member Docket Committee of the Faculty.
In accordance with University policy, Berkowitz sent his statement to the committee through the office of Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Jeremy R. Knowles.
Professor of Economics David M. Cutler '87, Richards Professor of Chemistry Cynthia Friend and Pearson Professor of Modern Mathematics and Mathematical Logic Warren D. Goldfarb '69--the members of the Docket Committee--have been charged with assessing the legitimacy of Berkowitz's complaint. None would comment for this story.
The threshold set out in the University's guidelines for proceeding to a full investigation of Berkowitz's case is low.
Unless the Docket Committee finds his filing to be "clearly without merit," Harvard procedure calls for the formation of a three-member ad hoc grievance panel to probe the associate professor's allegations.
Thomas Professor of Government and of Sociology Theda Skocpol, who won tenure at Harvard after appealing her department's decision not to recommend her, expressed doubt about the efficacy of the University's guidelines in a situation like Berkowitz's.
"I don't know that the University has an appropriate grievance mechanism for reviewing a decision of the president," Skocpol said.
Her own tenure case was resolved without litigation, but Skocpol's complaint centered on Faculty proceedings rather than a ruling from the office of the University president.
Berkowitz's grievance--now before the Docket Committee--raises two broad objections to the manner in which Harvard handled his bid for tenure.
First, Berkowitz challenges the qualifications of the ad hoc committee convened to assess his scholarly aptitude. He charges that some of its members lacked relevant expertise and that others were predictably hostile to his candidacy because of their academic biases.
Second, Berkowitz charges that White-head Professor, Director of the Program in Ethics and the Professions and Associate Provost Dennis F. Thompson--a colleague of Berkowitz's in the Government Department--played an improper role in the consideration of his appointment.
In a statement to The Crimson, Dean Knowles confirmed his receipt of Berkowitz's formal complaint.
"According to the procedures of the Faculty, [I] have forwarded it to the elected members of the Docket Committee," Knowles said.
Knowles declined to speculate about when the committee might announce a decision.
"I do not know their [the Docket Committee's] intentions with respect to a time frame," said the dean.
The Berkowitz Camp
Since he filed the grievance last year, neither Berkowitz nor his advisers has received any information about the committee's progress.
In early January, Berkowitz and Nesson sent Knowles and the members of the Docket Committee a letter requesting the opportunity to address them in person.
The letter elicited a brief reply from the dean's office recommending that Berkowitz direct all further correspon-