“I’m hoping for the best out of this lawsuit,” he said.
Berkowitz is currently an associate professor of law at George Mason University Law School. He also serves as a fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and directs a program on constitutional government in Israel.
A Five-Year Battle
Yesterday was the latest development in what has been a five-year standoff between Berkowitz and the University.
Berkowitz alleges shortly after he was denied tenure in April 1997, he learned of improprieties in the composition and actions of the official University committee that reviewed his case.
The following winter, he began his grievance proceedings, first lodging informal complaints with University and Faculty administrators, then filing a formal grievance with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
The Docket Committee, which normally tends to minor administrative duties, found Berkowitz’s claim “clearly without merit”—closing off any further options for appeal.
But Berkowitz claims the Docket Committee overstepped its mandate, calling witnesses and essentially launching an investigation when it was only charged with deciding whether Berkowitz’s grievance warranted further examination.
That alleged misconduct forms the basis of Berkowitz’s original suit, which he filed in spring 2000.
Silverglate said Berkowitz stands a good chance of winning his trial.
“He has focused this very narrowly as a contract dispute between him and Harvard in a way that does not attempt to compromise Harvard’s academic freedom,” Silverglate said.
But the University’s attorneys expressed confidence in the strength of their arguments yesterday.
“We think we have a compelling argument about why this case is without merit legally,” said University spokesperson Joe Wrinn.
If Harvard does, however, lose its appeal, the University’s attorney say it will grant Berkowitz’s initial request—that the Faculty form an ad hoc committee to fully investigate his tenure proceedings.
“The cost of going forward with litigation is not worth the battle and could potentially require us to produce confidential tenure documents,” Deputy General Counsel Robert W. Iuliano said last year.
Wrinn confirmed yesterday that the University still plans to follow that plan.
—Staff writer Kate L. Rakoczy can be reached at rakoczy@fas.harvard.edu.