Marcus Commission Report

The Report on the Presidential Commission on Academic Priorities in the Arts and Sciences (also known as the Marcus Commission Report), was the product of a commision established by University President William McGill in 1978. After nearly two years, the commission, chaired by English Professor Steven Marcus, produced a damning 264 page report. Among other conclusions, it found that "[w]e have fallen. The evidence is unambiguous, and candor compels us to acknowledge that we no longer occupy a position of distinct pre-eminence. In several disciplines we have fallen below the first rank." The report called for a consolidation of the Arts and Sciences (then split into four independent divisions - CC, GS, SIPA, and GSAS), and the correction of a 'disproportionate' emphsasis on the humanities in the faculty ranks.

External links

• Spectator coverage:
  • http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19791101-01.2.3
  • http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19791119-01.2.4
  • http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19800122-01.2.7
  • http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19800125-01.2.5
  • http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19800128-01.2.9
  • http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19800131-01.2.4
  • http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19800208-01.2.4