Harvard professor appointed

The University secured a victory during Intersession in the contest to attract renowned African-American studies professors when it named Kwame Anthony Appiah as a professor for the Center for Human Values and Laurance S. Rockefeller '32 professor of philosophy, effective in September.

Appiah, currently a professor of Afro-American studies and philosophy at Harvard University, was officially appointed by the Board of Trustees on Saturday, Jan. 26. He has been at Harvard since 1991 and specializes in philosophy and African and African-American studies in addition to culture and identity.

The appointment comes as the administration has been courting professors to bolster its African-American studies program. Earlier this year Harvard's Cornel West GS '80 expressed disappointment with the comments of Harvard President Lawrence Summers and suggested he might leave for the University.

West and Summers subsequently met to quell tensions. But Appiah's departure has called into question whether more professors will leave Harvard for the University.

Appiah said recent controversy did not influence his decision and that it provided a "distracting and irrelevant context."

However, Appiah explained that two factors primarily influenced his decision to come to the University. The first factor was "personal," he said, noting that he lives in New York City and no longer wants to commute by plane to Boston each week. Second, he said he wanted to work at an institution that would offer academic opportunities similar to those at Harvard.

"Princeton seemed perfect" because of its proximity to New York, its excellent philosophy department and its "unique" Center for Human Values, Appiah said.

Appiah said he would like to teach a freshman seminar, an undergraduate course and a graduate course while researching various issues in philosophy, including "ethical ideas about what it is to lead a satisfactory human life."

University administrators welcomed Appiah's appointment this past week.

Appiah "is a brilliant scholar and teacher" whose expertise in philosophy, identity, culture and African ideas is world renowned, said Provost Amy Gutmann.

President Tilghman expressed similar sentiments.

"Anthony Appiah brings even greater distinction to our philosophy department, to our Center for Human Values and to our distinguished and growing work in African-American studies," she said in a statement.

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The appointment has also fueled other questions about African-American studies programs and departments in higher education. The University is the only Ivy League school without an African-American studies department.

Instead of awarding degrees in African-American studies, the University offers certificates to students who take at least five courses in or relating to the program and who examine an issue in African-American studies in their theses.

Appiah reserved judgement on whether this program should be a full department, saying he will "arrive and learn about the situation" before deciding.

The appointment has also raised the idea of Henry Louis Gates, chair of Harvard's African-American studies department, following Appiah to the University. The two are close colleagues who attended Cambridge University and have worked together at four universities. Gates has made statements that suggest he also might leave Harvard, but some believe his statements are only intended to gain him additional support at Harvard.

The author of many books and articles, Appiah wrote "Color Conscious: The Political Morality of Race" with Gutmann in 1996. It won the annual book award of the North American Society for Social Philosophy, the Ralph J. Bunche Award of the American Political Science Association and the Gustavus Myers Award for the Study of Human Rights.