"We're going to have to face facts that there were real crimescommitted in the past. Black history and women's history wereshamefully treated by the academy," said Genovese, a historian who iswidely regarded for his writings on American slavery.

Dr. Gerald Early, an African and Afro-American studies professor atWashington University, told the NAS audience that Afro-American studieshad a long and storied tradition among prominent scholars, such asW.E.B DuBois, at historically Black institutions. And, he noted, thattradition predates its arrival on the heated campus environments of thesixties and early seventies.

However, Early also said that the era of student unrest and campusturmoil contributed to the founding of Afro-American studies programsthat lacked rigorous discipline and serious scholarship.

Other scholars drew a tougher line. They defined multiculturalismlargely in terms of it constituting an ideology-driven threat toacademic freedom and traditional scholarship.

Conference attendees and panel members regaled each other withstories of their experiences on campus. Even Lino Graglia, the recentlyreprieved professor at the University of Texas law school (see story onpage 6), spoke briefly about the limited support he received fromfellow faculty members when he was publicly assailed for controversialremarks he made about the academic performance of Black and Hispanicstudents.

Multiculturalism loomed large as a threat to academic freedom in theeyes of conference attendees. Dr. Alvin J. Schmidt, a sociologist atIllinois College, says he has seen multiculturalism emerge as anideology in the curriculum rather than as a legitimate component ofliberal arts education.

"I think multiculturalists have waged an attack on true liberalarts. I come from Canada, and I have seen what multiculturalism can doto a country," Schmidt says.