Faculty dismiss Baker's claims that Stevens is incompetent, racist

Several faculty members have rallied to support School of Arts and Sciences Dean Rosemary Stevens following accusations of alleged incompetence and racism. A column in Friday's Daily Pennsylvanian quoted English Professor Houston Baker as calling Stevens incompetent and describes incidents in which she is accused of being biased against certain ethnic groups and departments. In particular, Baker -- who is the director of the Center for the Study of Black Literature and Culture -- describes an incident in which Stevens allegedly overlooked the importance of an Asian American Studies petition at a meeting she had with students advocating the formation of such a department. But many doubted the validity of these allegations, and Stevens said she was surprised by Baker's statements. "I am a strong supporter of Asian American Studies and misreporting what occurred at the very helpful meeting with students does a disservice to faculty and students in this school," she said. In response to the column, written by College junior Mike Nadel, Stevens held a one hour information session on Friday for concerned students. She also took individual phone calls throughout the day. While the column initially offended South Asia Society President and College junior Mika Rao, she said meeting with the dean helped alleviate her concerns. "She was very interested and supportive and I believe her track record supports this," she said. Rao added that Stevens denied making the comments outlined in the column, and said she would meet with the other Asian-American leaders within the next few months. "I think there must have been a misunderstanding involved," she added. And Undergraduate English Chair Al Filreis said he has never had a problem with Steven's attitude toward his department, although Baker had indicated otherwise in the letter quoted in Nadel's column. Baker also said Stevens suffers from what he labels as "resentment of excellence syndrome." As a result of this, he said, she has sacrificed the quality of the educational experience by refusing to grant tenure to qualified professors. But Regional Science Professor Stephen Gale denied that there are ulterior motives involved in Steven's decisions. "The idea that the deanship might not be committed to excellence is undoubtedly untrue," he said. Gale added that he does not blame the dean for the problems at the University, attributing the flaws more to the system than to a particular administrator. Baker would not comment further on Stevens last night. However he maintained that he is committed to excellence. "I hear about the University of Pennsylvania and its excellence," he said. "I have worked toward that excellence for 20 years and will continue to do so."