Cornel West Condemns Harvard’s ‘Spiritual Rot,’ Accuses School of Discrimination in Explosive Resignation Letter
Progressive activist and Harvard philosophy professor Cornel West declared the university in a state of “decline and decay” as he publicly announced his resignation from the school.
West posted his “candid letter of resignation” to Harvard’s Divinity School on social media Monday evening. In it, West slammed the “disarray of a scattered curriculum, the disenchantment of talented yet deferential faculty, and the disorientation of precious students loom large” at Harvard.
“How sad it is to see our beloved Harvard Divinity School in such decline and decay,” he writes.
This is my candid letter of resignation to my Harvard Dean. I try to tell the unvarnished truth about the decadence in our market-driven universities! Let us bear witness against this spiritual rot! pic.twitter.com/hCLAuNSWDu
— Cornel West (@CornelWest) July 13, 2021
West’s resignation comes after he said earlier this year that Harvard denied him the chance to receive tenure, so he planned a return to the Union Theological Seminary, where he started teaching decades ago. He went on to note that this is his second stint at Harvard, and he was hoping for “some semblance of intellectual intensity and personal respect” before the end of his career there.
“How wrong I was!” said West. “With a few glorious and glaring exceptions, the shadow of Jim Crow was cast in its new glittering form expressed in the language of superficial diversity.”
West goes on by speaking of the school’s “spiritual rot” and offering a list of complaints against Harvard, not the least of which was his accusation that the university treated him unfairly because of his support for Palestine.
“This kind of narcissistic academic professionalism, cowardly deference to the anti-Palestinian prejudices of the Harvard administration, and indifference to my Mother’s death constitute an intellectual and spiritual bankruptcy of deep depths,” he said. “In my case, a serious commitment to Veritas requires resignation — with precious memories but absolutely no regrets!”
The news surrounding West’s resignation draws parallels to recent comments from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones about her efforts to seek tenure for her work as a professor.
Earlier this month, Hannah-Jones spoke about her decision to accept a teaching job at Howard University over the University of North Carolina. She based her choice on the controversy that erupted when the UNC broke with tradition by initially refusing to offer her tenure. The incident prompted accusations of unfairness and her subsequent decision to decline the job, even when she was offered tenure later.
