Harvard professor out as dean amid backlash for representing Harvey Weinstein Joey Garrison
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/05/11/harvard-professor-representing-harvey-weinstein-out-faculty-dean/1175463001/
BOSTON – A Harvard Law School professor who became a lightning rod on the Ivy League campus for working on the legal defense team of Harvey Weinstein has been let go as a faculty dean.
Neither Ronald Sullivan Jr. nor his wife, Stephanie Robinson, will continue as faculty deans of Harvard’s Winthrop House when their terms end next month, the university said Saturday.
Rakesh Khurana, dean of Harvard College, announced his decision in an email to residents of the school’s Winthrop House, calling the situation “untenable” and saying it was “informed by a number of considerations.”
Sullivan has been under fire from students since January when he emerged as one of the attorneys representing Weinstein in the media mogul’s upcoming trial where he faces multiple sex-crime charges.
But the controversy surrounding Sullivan – who presides over the Winthrop House with Robinson who is also a Harvard law professor – escalated further amid recent reports from the student-run Harvard Crimson newspaper about numerous complaints against the couple since 2016 about their handling of house affairs.
“Over the last few weeks, students and staff have continued to communicate concerns about the climate in the Winthrop House to the college,” Khurana said in the email. “The concerns expressed have been serious and numerous.
“The actions that have been taken to improve the climate have been ineffective, and the noticeable lack of faculty dean presence during critical moments has further deteriorated the climate in the house. I have concluded that the situation in the house is untenable.”
Harvard has faculty deans to lead and reside at each of its 12 buildings that house undergraduate students. It’s considered a powerful and prestigious position. Sullivan and Robinson were the first African Americans to serve as faculty deans at Harvard.
In response to the university’s decision, Sullivan and Robinson said they are “surprised and dismayed.”
“We believed the discussions we were having with high-level University representatives were progressing in a positive manner, but Harvard unilaterally ended those talks,” the couple said in a joint statement.
The couple added that they “will now take some time to process Harvard’s actions and consider our options. We are sorry that Harvard’s actions and the controversy surrounding us has contributed to the stress on Winthrop students at this already stressful time.”
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