To the Editor:

As former students of Paul Kennedy’s, and now fellow members of the historical profession, we wish to emphatically agree with those who have noted his commitment to serving the Yale community and the world beyond. While we do not yet have all the facts about the automobile incident reported in the News (“Kennedy charged with DUI,” 2/7), one fact is indisputably clear: For more than 20 years, Kennedy has displayed extraordinary devotion to teaching and mentoring legions of students. As his TAs and doctoral students, we witnessed first-hand how often Kennedy went beyond the call of duty in assisting people in need. At universities across America and abroad, we strive to follow his example.

When Professor Kennedy has his day in court, the larger court of public opinion will likely focus on the outcome of these proceedings. But as historians, we insist not only that he be treated fairly, but that no one forget his service to history.

Lucy Chester ’96 GRD ’02

University of Colorado, Boulder

Matthew Connelly GRD ’98

Columbia University

Richard Drayton GRD ’93

University of Cambridge

Jay Howard Geller GRD ’01

University of Tulsa

Will Gray GRD ’99

Purdue University

William I. Hitchcock GRD ’93

Temple University

Talbot Imlay GRD ’98

Universite Laval

Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet GRD ’97

University of Pennsylvania

Mark Lawrence GRD ’98

University of Texas, Austin

Fredrik Logevall GRD ’93

Cornell University

Fernande Raine GRD ’00

Harvard University

David Schimmelpenninck van der Oye ’79 GRD ’97

Brock University

Jennifer Siegel, ’90 GRD ’98

Ohio State University

David R. Stone ’97

Kansas State University

Jeremi Suri GRD ’01

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Vincent Viaene GRD ’96

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Geoffrey Wawro GRD ’92

University of North Texas

Salim Yaqub GRD ’99

University of California, Santa Barbara

Feb. 14, 2006