The departments of anthropology, english and psychology at Harvard appear to have been relatively quick to respond to the 1983 opportunity of hiring a professor in women’s studies. The Harvard Dean then wrote a memo to encourage other departments to come up with candidates as well. John Kenneth Galbraith put forward the name of Barbara Bergmann for the serious consideration of the department. Perhaps someone knows whether his suggestion was able to obtain any search traction?
___________________
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics
A. Michael Spence
Chairman
Littauer Center 200
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
(617) 495-2144
October 31, 1983
TO: Members of the Faculty, Economics Department
FROM: A. Michael Spence [Signed initials: AMS]
The attached is self-explanatory. Does anyone have ideas? Please let me know.
___________________
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Office of the Dean
5 University Hall
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
(617) 495-1566
October 4, 1983
TO: Chairmen of the Departments of Classics, Comparative Literature, Economics, Government, History, Philosophy, and Sociology
FROM: Henry Rosovsky
RE: Tenured Position in Women’s Studies
Last spring, the Committee on Women’s Studies informally notified several departments of the opportunity to nominate a distinguished scholar in the area of women’s studies. The appointment would be made entirely within a department with the understanding that the individual would devote at least half of his or her teaching time to Women’s Studies and play an active role in the future development of teaching and scholarly activities in that area.
Several departments (Anthropology, English, and Psychology) have already reported active searches; some have advanced to the short list stage. If your department is interested in pursuing this opportunity, please let my office know as soon as possible. If you wish to nominate a candidate, you should write to me describing the candidate (and the search procedure), and indicating what advantages will accrue to the department and to the Women’s Studies program if the position is assigned to your department. I expect that an assignment will be made by the end of the calendar year unless there is some compelling reason to delay.
dmg
___________________
John Kenneth Galbraith
Harvard University
Cambridge
207 Littauer Center
November 10, 1983
Professor A. Michael Spence
Littauer 200
Dear Michael:
Would you think of Barbara Bergmann, now at University of Maryland? She is one of our Ph.D.s, a brilliant economist, articulate in written and oral expression and both deeply and intelligently concerned with women’s issues. When President of the AEA I established as you know the Committee on the State of Women I the profession. Barbara took an alert and effective part in its work. I have no thought as to her availability; I do urge that she be considered. It would be very good, indeed, to have her back.
Yours faithfully,
[signed]
John Kenneth Galbraith
JG/all
Source: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. John Kenneth Galbraith Personal Papers. Series 5. Harvard University File, 1949-1990. Box 526. Folder: “Harvard Department of Economics: General, 1975-1988”
Image Sources: Barbara Bergmann in a Center for the History of Political Economy at Duke University spotlight web post. John Kenneth Galbraith (22 Feb. 1982) at “Top Management Forum” in Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam. Wikimedia Commons, from the Dutch National Archives.