A Harvard faculty member who decided to represent Harvey Weinstein at his rape trial is losing his position as head of a student house at the college.
Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana said in a written statement over the weekend he would not renew the appointments of Ronald Sullivan and his wife, Stephanie Robinson, the school's first black faculty deans, citing concerns about the climate at Winthrop House, which he described as serious. Sullivan lives at the house and supervises students there.
The decision does not affect Sullivan’s position as a professor at Harvard Law School.
Some students and faculty members have faulted Sullivan’s decision to represent Weinstein and his response to students’ concerns. Khurana called the situation regrettable and said efforts to improve the climate were ineffective.
The couple said in an email they were surprised and dismayed. They said Harvard unilaterally ended discussions that had been progressing.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Kate Taylor, New York Times reporter on the National Desk, covering New England; she tweets
Jody Armour, professor of law at University of Southern California
Erwin Chemerinsky, dean and professor of law at UC Berkeley; founding dean of the School of Law at UC Irvine