Noted Prof Deudney forced to leave U.

Because his bid for tenure was rejected, the popular Political Science professor will teach elsewhere. Nearly a year after the University rejected his first bid for tenure, popular Political Science Professor Daniel Deudney confirmed yesterday that he will leave Penn after this semester. Deudney said he was offered associate professor positions -- a promotion from his current status as an assistant professor -- at the University of Toronto, the University of Southern California and Johns Hopkins University. Penn's Political Science Department-- which employs 21 professors -- is significantly smaller than the 42-person average at the top 10 departments across the country, and is currently in the process of trying to hire new faculty members. Deudney, a well-known authority in the field of international relations, will not be granted tenure this year, his seventh at Penn. University guidelines stipulate that a professor who is not tenured after seven years on the faculty must leave the school. Although Deudney's tenure bid was unanimously endorsed by the Political Science Department and he was recommended by the School of Arts and Sciences Personnel Committee, the Provost's Staff Conference -- the highest body to consider an application for tenure -- rejected the bid in a closed-door session last May. For Deudney to stay at the University, the department would have to file an appeal of last year's decision with the Conference. Political Science Department Chairperson Ian Lustick said the department will not file such an appeal. "We are about to lose one of the most spectacularly successful teachers at the University," Lustick said. "I'm in agony about this." Lustick said that although Deudney had the support of both the department and SAS throughout the entire process, his tenure file has not changed significantly since last year, a requirement for an appeal. "Dan knows that the leadership in this department has done everything it could to try to avoid this tragic situation," Lustick said. "At least I hope he feels that way." According to Deudney, the Provost's Staff Conference -- composed of the deans of all of the University's schools -- denied him tenure last year because he failed to publish a book during his time at Penn. Deudney co-authored one book, Renewable Energy, when he worked at the Worldwatch Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based environmental policy organization. Deudney said he is currently working on six manuscripts for books, but none are yet ready to go to a publisher. He expects them to be ready within one or two years, but added that Penn's "rigid" tenure system would not allow him extra time to satisfy the publishing expectations of the tenure committee. Interim Provost Michael Wachter was unable to comment on Deudney's situation specifically, citing a lack of familiarity with the case. He did say, however, that in the decision of whether to grant tenure to a professor, "often one book wouldn't do it." College of Arts and Sciences Dean Richard Beeman, who is chairing a task force to recruit new Political Science professors, stressed that "in the College of Arts and Sciences, one cannot expect to get tenure unless you are an excellent scholar and teacher." "It does mean that occasionally some wonderful teachers don't get tenure," he added. Deudney won Penn's Lindback Award for excellence in teaching in 1996 and the American Political Science Association's Best Article in History and Politics award in 1995. Beeman admitted that he was "confounded" by Deudney's refusal to publish his manuscripts, joking that he wanted to "sneak into his house at night" to bring some of Deudney's unpublished writings to a publisher. "His reputation is almost bigger than what he's published," Beeman said. Lustick said he is confident that these books, when published, will be "path-breaking" works. Still, Lustick admitted that "it is very difficult to give tenure to someone based on his potential, no matter how clear it is." Deudney said he expects to decide later this week which job offer he will take. He indicated that all three offer a "substantial raise" and a "fast-track tenure" option that could give him complete job security within one to two years. Jonathan Aronson, the director of USC's School of International Relations, and William Connolly, the chairperson of the political science department at Johns Hopkins, refused to comment. Robert Vipond, the chairperson of Toronto's Political Science Department, did not return repeated calls for comment. And although he could not comment officially, Sheldon Kamieniecki, the chairperson of the Political Science Department at USC, was hopeful that Deudney would accept the Los Angeles school's offer. Deudney said the schools he was considering might be better matches for him than Penn. "There is a much stronger fit between the departments [at the other schools] and my interests," he said, adding that he would continue to study international relations theory and environmental politics -- the subjects of the two large lecture courses he teaches at Penn. Students who have taken Deudney's courses were upset to hear of his departure. "I'm sure I'm not alone on this, that the University made a mistake in not holding onto him," College junior Amy Raphael said. "He's going to go to another school and publish like crazy, and the University's going to regret it." Student Committee on Undergraduate Education Chairperson and College junior Rachael Goldfarb added that she was upset that students do not have more of an official role in tenure decisions. Deudney, considered one of the department's most popular professors, received a 3.9 rating out of 4.0 from his students in the 1997 edition of the Penn Course Review's Undergraduate Course Guide. Before coming to Penn, Deudney spent three years as a legislative director for former U.S. Sen. John Durkin (D-N.H.) and consulted for the State and Defense departments. He received his doctorate from Princeton University in 1989 and joined Penn in 1991 to replace another noted international relations scholar.

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