"I think that students don't get the kind ofcontinuity they deserve," he said.
Students, who have traditionally lavishedpraise on Handley, said they were upset by hisannouncement to step down.
In his Fall 1996 Virginia Wolff seminar,students gave Handley a 5.0 rating for instructionin the Committee on Undergraduate Education (CUE)guide on the five-point scale. The mean rating forthe course overall was 4.9.
Eddie J. Borey '00, who was a student in one ofHandley's seminars last year, described thescholar as funny and patient.
"That's the seminar everyone was trying to getinto," Borey said.
He said the loss of Handley's popular VirginiaWolff seminar--which he said drew more than 50people for its 14 slots--will leave a hole in thedepartment.
"It's Harvard's loss--he was a great teacher,"Borey said