“While Professor Neugeboren certainly possesses plenty of intellect, it alone cannot make up for what he lacks in...other traits. For four weeks, my classmates and I have tolerated incomprehensible lectures, confusing graphs, repeatedly botched arithmetic, poorly written problem sets and apathetic teaching fellows,” Greenspan wrote.

He also expressed frustration with the problem sets, which he said were “challenging, not due to challenging material, but because of ambiguously worded questions and unfamiliar content.”

Benjamin Faltesek ’05, who also signed the letter, said he had similar problems with the lectures.

“They were not well organized and he frequently made small, not major, conceptual errors that slowed down lectures and tended to frustrate people and block the flow of information he was trying to convey,” Faltesek said.

“We weren’t concerned with Dr. Neugeboren, who is very intelligent and capable. We were simply concerned with how much students were getting out of the course,” he continued.

After dropping off the letter on Oct. 18, Greenspan and four other students met with Hart three days later.

“[Hart] listened, I think somewhat in shock, at the magnitude of some of our complaints,” Greenspan said. “We had a midterm that morning, so he came to the next lecture, and I think seeing the teaching with his own eyes was enough to convince him that something needed to be done.”

Hart said the department first responded to the complaints by asking students in the class to complete course evaluations. These evaluations are a routine part of many courses, he said, but in this case they were conducted earlier in the semester than is regular to make sure the class shared Greenspan’s problems.

“It was clear that there was a problem and we addressed it pretty quickly. I think it’s good for students to voice their concerns,” Hart said.

Greenspan said the students suggested Hart appoint Watson as the guest lecturer. Watson had given a review session before the midterm for Lowell House students.

“He was just so excellent that we figured he’d be an obvious choice,” Greenspan said.

“I think Bruce’s lecture [on Monday] was very clear and cogent and he got what I think I can describe accurately as very enthusiastic applause at the end,” Faltesek said.

The students also praised Hart for his quick response to their concerns.

“[Oliver Hart] deserves a lot of credit for recognizing the problem and addressing it so quickly,” Greenspan said.

Gross said that while he received Greenspan’s letter, Hart made the decision on how to proceed.