The New York Times is reporting that Princeton professor Cornel West will leave his post in the summer to return to Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where he started out as an assistant professor in 1977.
The author of 19 books tells the Times that he will teach philosophy and Christian practices at Union and will take a significant reduction in pay.
"I don't have that much time, and I want to be able to do precisely what I'm called to do," Dr. West, 58, said. It will also be nice, he said, to be within walking distance of the Apollo Theater.
Unlike his departure from Harvard in 2002 after a dispute with the then-president, Lawrence H. Summers, Dr. West's departure from Princeton is on good terms. He will remain an emeritus professor there.
Princeton's president, Shirley Tilghman, said that Dr. West had helped create "one of the world’s leading centers for African-American studies" at Princeton.
Perhaps the move will give him more freedom to continue his evolution into social activism. He has surely moved in that direction recently with his ardent opposition to corporate America and his critiques of the Obama administration. We wish him luck and look forward to seeing what's in store for the next chapter of his career.
Read more at the New York Times.
In other news: DNA Evidence Frees 4 Black Men.
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