Larry Summers resigned from his post as president of Harvard University on Tuesday, preempting a vote of no confidence by Arts and Sciences faculty at the school.
While Summers reportedly retained the support of most students and faculty in other Harvard schools, some members of University faculty said he alienated too many of his constituents to continue as president and that his often inflammatory leadership style was incompatible with the academic world.
University Law professor and former University President Robert O'Neil said Summers's failure was caused by a combination of an overly-ambitious agenda and a rude personality.
Ultimately, he alienated too many of Harvard's Arts and Sciences faculty members -- a uniquely powerful constituency at Harvard, O'Neil said.
"Harvard is the only major university that does not have some faculty governance body," he said. "When the faculty of the college of Arts and Sciences are highly organized, that tends to receive disproportionate emphasis, simply because you never hear much from the professional school faculty."
While many faculty members of Harvard's professional schools remained supportive of Summers, they had little voice on his stay, O'Neil said.
Many Harvard students, too, supported the former president.
"I'm definitely pro-Larry -- I think that most students are," Harvard freshman Katherine Mims said.
Mims, a biochemistry major, said she was not offended by Summers's suggestion that the dearth of women in science fields may indicate innate gender differences -- a comment that sparked much controversy last year.
"I think we should be respectful of all kinds of theories even if they are considered controversial," Mims said.
However, some University faculty members said controversy should not be the realm of a college president.
"A president is expected to be collegial, diplomatic, and at least in some cases, deferential," Politics Prof. Larry Sabato said. "Larry Summers is not diplomatic."
Sabato added that while Summers's personality proved beneficial in his former political career, it ultimately proved to be his downfall at Harvard.
"Larry Summers is brilliant but abrasive," Sabato said. "That was obvious during his stint as secretary of treasury, and it's been obvious during his stint as president of Harvard. Politics tend to reward the personality of a Larry Summers, but academe tends to penalize it."
Ann Lane, professor of studies in women and gender, said a University president should be more attuned to faculty concerns and that Summers was too eager for publicity to be an effective leader.
A president's job "is primarily to raise funds, especially in a private university, and to try to speak to the unity of his faculty," Lane said
Lane called Summers's resignation a "victory for progress" in the role of university faculty.
"I think it is wonderful when the faculty can exert its point of view, since it is rare that anyone cares what the faculty thinks of the administration," Lane said.
Lane added that faculty members at the University have done little to organize as a constituency.
"The faculty meetings are very badly attended," she said.
William Harvey, chief officer for diversity and equity at the University, said while Summers was a poor leader and lost the support of his faculty. Ultimately, Summers simply generated too much negative publicity for the college, and this led the Harvard governing board to turn against him.
"Institutions are very concerned about their public relations standpoint," he said. "A lot of folks are under the misimpression that faculty can influence whether a president stays or goes, but ultimately the determination is made by the governing board."
Read More
Class of 2024 celebrates graduation at final exercises
By Finn Trainer | 2 days agoIn his opening remarks, University President Jim Ryan praised the graduating class for their resilience during challenging times.
U.Va. Alumni Association submits plans for new Alumni Hall building
By Caroline Hagood | 4 days agoWest said that despite the proposal moving through City Council’s review process, the project is still years away from becoming a reality.
Graduating student leaders reflect on how they impacted the University community
By Jackie Bond and Brandon Kile | 4 days agoAccording to Lilian Rojas, Board of Visitors student representative and fourth-year Batten student, the Class of 2024 is defined by its resilience.
