Butz resigns position, to leave in February

Assistant professor Otto Butz has resigned from the politics department, effective Feb. 1. His resignation came yesterday in a letter to William M. Beaney, chairman of the department.

In the letter, Butz contended that "the basis for a self-respecting part in the work of the department of Politics have been chopped away from me."

It was revealed last week that Butz's contract would not be renewed, but he had been scheduled to teach POL 303: The History of Political Theory this spring.

Dean of the Faculty J. Douglas Brown '19 said last night that he could not recall another mid-year resignation of a faculty member in the past.

Butz said in yesterday's letter that "events following upon President Goheen's recent public discussion of my status at Princeton have gotten completely out of hand."

He cites President Goheen's description of "the unsilent generation," edited by Butz, as "poor 'University citizenship' " as being "without provocation on my part."

"Then you, my chairman," he wrote Beaney, "publicly charge that my output of professional publications is not up to par and go on to disparage an forthcoming book of mine that you admittedly have not yet yourself seen."

(Beaney had earlier been quote din a Princetonian editorial as saying that Butz's forthcoming book was "basically an introductory textbook with a little bit of everything." He had added that Butz's overall contribution to the literature of politics had not been up to the standards of the department.)

He expressed regret for not having the opportunity to teach his course in the spring term. "Perhaps, however," he explained, "this whole affair may itself contain some food for thought about the contemporary United States and status of its liberal ideals of life and higher education."

Beaney, reached by phone last night, said he was "quite surprised" by Butz's move.

Discussing his earlier comments on Butz's forthcoming textbook, Beaney said he had based his remarks on conversations he had had with Butz himself. Beaney explained that introductory textbooks were not considered basic scholarship. He said that Butz had produced no published, scholarly work in his three years as assistant professor, although he had been given two term leaves.

Admitting that certain personal matters could not be considered "irrelevant" in the decision of the department not to rehire Butz, Beaney contended that these were not major factors.

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Beaney explained that the main factors considered were scholarship, a certain loyalty to the University, discretion and the duties required of a colleague in the department.