The Cavalier daily :: Friday, January 12, 1968 :: University of Virginia Library

"It is always a shame when
we don't get what we want, as
has happened with the economics
department: in the meantime,
however, I am sure the Rotunda
will stand up," said Dean Robert
Harris yesterday.

Mr. Harris, Dean of the
Faculty, told The Cavalier Daily
that he felt the charge of "political
favoritism" towards certain
economics professors were "simply
not true, although I do not
care to argue about it at this
time."

In a letter printed yesterday
in The Cavalier Daily, several
economics graduate students
charged that three excellent professors
were being allowed to
leave with little effort from the
administration to keep them at
the University. The reason given
was that the administration "did
not care for the political views
of the professors concerned."

Cotton Lindsay, president of
the graduate economics club, said
that "The real question used to
determine their statuses was
political involvement. Messrs.
Tullock and Buchanan had
violated the traditional sanctity
of economists by publishing
works on political science from
a conservative point of view. The
liberal administration disliked
their attitude here and allowed
them to leave.

"The final blow came when
Mr. Buchanan announced that
he would be leaving, inasmuch
as the administration had made
no efforts to regain the talents
of Mr. Tullock, who had twice
been refused promotion, or Andrew
Whinston, a third professor
who left last year when the administration
refused to meet the
offer from another university."

No Advance

Mr. Lindsay cited these cases
as evidence that the administration
hoped to be rid of these
conservative members by not advancing
them. He added another
name, that of Ronald Cohse, to
the list. "Mr. Cohse had," said
Mr. Lindsay, "been a very conservative
member offered a raise
by another university. The counter
raise offered to him here was
so embarrassingly small that he
was virtually forced to leave."

Dean Harris answered these
charges by saying "I don't care
to enter a debate with the students
on this issue. We always
feel slighted when we do not
get what we want, but hope to
be rational enough not to call
those who are above us 'favorite-playing'
or 'depraved.' "

'Privileged Material'

Asked on the process whereby
professors are rewarded for their
services, and for information on
Mr. Tullock, he said, "That is
privileged material. I appoint a
committee to recommend promotions
and such; these recommendations
eventually go to the
Board of Visitors."

He went on, "In Mr. Whinston's
case, however, we gave him
a counter-offer that he said was
quite satisfactory. He then returned
for another offer; we
could not continue this negotiating
indefinitely."

Mr. Buchanan's case has particularly
caused furore among the
members of the department. He
had worked closely with Mr. Tullock
and Mr. Whinston, and had
asked to have them reinstated this
year.

Mr. Lindsay said that "First
the administration tried to buy
him off with a salary raise, then
stalled around. In the end, the
reinstatement action never came,
and Mr. Buchanan said he would
leave to find a more hospitable
environment."

'No Efforts'

Dean Harris replied to this
charge by saying that "No efforts
were made through me to reinstate
these men as professors."

Both Mr. Buchanan and G.W.
Nutter, chairman of the economics
department, could not be
reached for comment.

Mr. Buchanan's political involvements
were apparently those
mentioned in the letter yesterday,
including posts as past president
of the Southern Economic Association
and Director of the
Thomas Jefferson Center for
Political Economy.

'Virginia's Loss'

At present, he is reported to
have received several offers from
other universities. Mr. Lindsay
said, "It appears as if the University
wanted to lose Professor
Buchanan. It will. It is hard to
understand why the University
has sat complacently by while
one of its greatest departments
has been seriously dismembered.
It is Virginia's loss."