And although Summers maintains that the FAS science buildings in Allston could consist of entirely new programs—leaving all current facilities where they are—science professors still worry that they may have to move.

“The overriding fact is that scientists are unhappy,” one council member said. “The scientists don’t want to move.”

Hauser says that while all the sciences are pressed for space, the division of the sciences would be “a disaster” for many departments.

“It has to be shown that they have exhausted all possibilities [for FAS science] in the vicinity of [the Cambridge] campus,” Hauser said.

Although it was on the council’s agenda, discussion of a letter penned by council member and Welch Professor of Computer Science Stuart M. Shieber ’81 was postponed because of Shieber’s absence from the meeting.

According to professors who have read the letter, Shieber highlights scientists’ main concerns about the University’s plans for Allston—taking issue with the decision to leave the Law School where it stands while dividing science facilities between the new land and Cambridge. While scientists have opposed a potential divide in FAS sciences for years, the letter marks the most explicit criticism of an Allston science campus yet.

Shieber’s letter will likely be discussed at the council’s next meeting—scheduled for Dec. 10—when it will resume consideration of Allston plans.

And one member said the issue will likely linger.

“My expectation is that the anger will not be easily set to rest,” one council member said, noting that science professors and staff make up more than half of the total faculty. “This will not die down in the next month.”

—Staff writer Stephen M. Marks can be reached at marks@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Rebecca D. O’Brien can be reached at robrien@fas.harvard.edu.