Mass. GOP Urges Harvard to Eliminate Law Prof Elizabeth Warren's Salary as She Runs for the Senate
After seemingly coming close to joining the Obama administration as chief of the new consumer protection agency she helped create, Harvard University law professor Elizabeth Warren is now running, as a Democrat, for a seat in the U.S. Senate. If nominated, her Republican opponent would be incumbent Scott Brown.
But Republicans would like to see Warren do so without the support of a regular paycheck from Harvard, reports the Boston Globe’s Political Intelligence blog.
In a letter to the university’s president, Drew Gilpin Faust, the executive director of the state Republican Party, Nate Little, said or implied that Harvard is taking Warren’s side in the election:
“By restoring her to the faculty, even though she has now formed a federal election committee and is actively campaigning, the university is establishing a bad precedent for academic appointments,” Little wrote.
“Of equal concern is that Harvard runs the risk of jeopardizing its tax-exempt status. As a non-profit charitable institution, Harvard is prohibited from taking a position on behalf of or in opposition to a candidate. Your payment of a salary to Professor Warren causes reasonable-minded people to conclude that Harvard is supportive of her candidacy.”
Warren will be teaching one contracts class twice a week this fall, the newspaper says.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Former Harvard Law Prof Elizabeth Warren Bypassed for Consumer Protection Bureau”
