Saying Tufts was an "apolitical" campus where his voice as a South Asian might not be heard, junior drama professor Sudipto Chatterjee is considering leaving the University for a position at the University of California at Berkeley. The decision would remove one of Tufts' most recognized directors, as well as one of its few professors of Asian American studies.
While Chatterjee has only received an initial offer from Berkeley, he said the search committee there has all but guaranteed he will glide through the approval process.
The junior faculty member, on tenure track, insists he will also carefully consider any counter offer from Tufts. And while he says he loves the school and his department, Chatterjee said that, politically, Berkeley is more attractive to him.
Provost Sol Gittleman declined to comment on Chatterjee's potential departure, and Dean of Arts and Sciences Susan Ernst could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Barbara Grossman, the chair of the drama and dance department, wrote a letter of recommendation for Chatterjee to Berkeley but said Tufts would do its best to retain one of its most popular professors.
Chatterjee said the politically active Berkeley campus, well known for its free speech and anti-war movements during the 1960s, offers a stark contrast to Tufts' political climate. After Sept. 11, he became even more concerned at what he perceived to be a lack of campus interest in the US response to terrorism.
"It's as if nothing ever happened," Chatterjee said. "[EPIIC director] Sherman Teichman seems to be the only person who is being visible and speaking loudly about it."
Chatterjee said he is concerned that the warning signs of what could become a global war with South Asia and the Middle East right in the middle are falling on deaf ears. "I feel like my voice will never be heard [here]," Chatterjee said.
South Asian culture is important to Chatterjee, another reason he may find Berkeley more attractive. The school has a South and Southeast Asian studies Department, as well as an independent South Asian center, both of which are absent at Tufts. And although Chatterjee says that the drama department is like a family to him, and that he has made some of his best friends there, he said he needs to feel more like he is a part of his own community.
"The family is one thing, but you need the world as well," Chatterjee said. "I think I'll have a home [at Berkeley] that Tufts cannot provide.
Despite his concerns with Tufts, Chatterjee insists he is extremely happy on the Medford campus. He is well-regarded among his students - recently, three nominated Chatterjee for an award honoring the professor that most changed their lives.
Grossman acknowledged that the drama department has essentially allowed the professor free reign in the classes he wants to teach and the plays he wants to direct.
"I can't even qualify how good it's been," Chatterjee said. "When I first got here from NYU [his first job] I had to pinch myself some mornings."
Hayavadana and Playboy of the Western World, both directed by Chatterjee, have been campus hits. And Chatterjee's courses that focus on non-Western drama - Film in India and Asian American Film and Theatre - have been so popular since his arrival in the fall of 1999 that he has offered both classes twice.
Grossman said she hasn't written Chatterjee off just yet "We will do whatever we can do to keep him," Grossman said. "But it's all going to come down to salary, and if Tufts is going to be competitive."
Grossman says that a Chatterjee departure would leave a large void in the drama department, particularly in non-Western theatre opportunities. While she would immediately submit a proposal for a replacement with expertise in a similar area, the University deadline for hiring requests is mid-April. If Chatterjee makes his decision after the hiring deadline, Grossman says, the drama department would be without a replacement until the fall of 2004.
Junior Aaron Chiu, a member of the Asian American Community at Tufts (AACT), said it was unfortunate that Tufts may lose a "great professor." Chiu said he is also concerned about Tufts losing Chatterjee's Asian American Film and Theater class, since it represents about a third of the courses currently offered under the realm of Asian American studies.
Chatterjee has told Berkeley that it would have to accommodate his sabbatical plans for the upcoming semester. He said he expects to receive a final offer within a few weeks.
