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In the Public Eye

Since its formation in January 1991, the Jenny Harrison Support Committee has accumulated members, put out a newsletter, compiled information about the case, and solicited donations to help defray Harrison's legal expenses. Headed by Charity Hirsch, the wife of Berkeley's Morris Hirsch, the Support Committee had a heavy-hitting lineup of honorary members, including California legislators, well-known mathematicians and scientists, and representatives of the American Association of University Women and the Association of Federal, County, State, and Municipal Employees. When Harrison was appointed to the Berkeley faculty last summer, the Support Committee held a press conference and issued a news release. In addition to publicity generated by the Support Committee, numerous articles, many of them favorable to Harrison, have been published in such diverse publications as the East Bay Express (a free weekly newspaper published in Berkeley), the Los Angeles Times, and Science magazine. In addition, Harrison gave speeches about her case in a number of forums, including before a panel of the U.S. Congress, which led to her appearance on the CNN television program, ``Sonia Live''.

Given popular perceptions that ``women can't do mathematics'' and the fact that there are so few women mathematicians in the nation's elite universities, it might seem unsurprising that Harrison's story received so much publicity. However, Harrison's critics contend that she and her supporters mounted a ``propaganda campaign'' and manipulated the facts of her case in order to gain public sympathy. For example, in her article, Lenore Blum describes what she sees as distortions, manipulation of facts, and intimidation carried out by Harrison and her supporters. In his article, Kirby accuses Harrison of carrying out a public campaign to paint the Berkeley mathematics department as sexist.

Asked by the Notices if she had a response to these charges, Harrison provided the following statement: ``My supporters and I believe that the case got widespread press coverage because of its compelling evidence of discrimination in the important field of mathematics. This coverage brought the attention of the public not only to my situation but to the general one of many women in mathematics, especially in the top research departments. As to the statements that Blum opines, I do my best to ignore unsubstantiated ad hominem attacks, and I anticipate the editors of the Notices will have a fact checker review such assertions before taking them seriously and publishing them. Regardless, I assume the readers of the Notices will require evidence and discussion from both sides before buying into what may amount to vacuous gossip. I suggest that we move on to our research, teaching, and service and encourage women of all ages to pursue their mathematical interests.''

Like other Harrison critics, Blum says that Harrison's ``publicity campaign'' contributed to the pressure on the university to settle out of court. Saying that she believes the university could have won a court case, Blum writes: ``What it probably could not have won, and of which the University administration was ultimately aware, would be the larger case in the public's mind: why are there so few women and minorities in the Math Department at Berkeley. The University just didn't want its track record in terms of women--and minorities--examined under a public microscope''.

Next: The Review Committee Up: Fighting for Tenure The Previous: Charges of Discrimination