The Chancellor of the City University of New York, Matthew Goldstein, has sent in a letter, which we publish on the opposite page. The statistics he cites about the changes under way at CUNY are encouraging, and he should be proud of his accomplishments. Which is why so many are surprised and disappointed at the decision to deny tenure to Robert David “KC” Johnson at Brooklyn College. It’s not just the decision that’s disappointing but the reasons for it. In the middle of interviewing Mr. Johnson for the promotion, for example, another professor, Bert Thomas of the Department of Africana Studies, disparaged Mr. Johnson for not “cuddling” Brooklyn College students, whom Mr. Thomas described as “barely literate.” (Mr. Thomas told The New York Sun yesterday, “I’m not able to tell you anything about this matter.”)

The students themselves, cuddled or no, seem to be greatly supportive of Mr. Johnson. The chairman of the history department, Philip Gallagher, met with Mr. Johnson in October of 2001 and, according to a memo of the conversation signed by the chairman, “The chair reiterated that he had found the class well taught in every way and thanked Johnson for his continued success in attracting the great number of students to his courses that he has been attracting.” In other words, maybe what students are looking for isn’t cuddling but a fine teacher and scholar of history. If Mr. Goldstein is serious about raising standards, as we believe he is, he’ll take a close look at how Mr. Johnson was treated by some faculty members whose standards are less than CUNY deserves.