Embattled Harvard University President Lawrence H. Summers resigned last Tuesday after developing a deep rift with some members of the school's faculty, a situation not unfamiliar to the AU community.
Summers' five-year tenure has been rife with controversy since almost the start of his term. Shortly after his appointment, several well-known black studies professors left the university after clashes with Summers. Last year, he received widespread criticism after making public statements that innate qualities may be responsible for women holding so few top positions in the sciences, according to The Washington Post.
Last March, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, which runs Harvard's undergraduate program, passed a vote of no confidence in Summers, the first such vote in the school's history. The same faculty was scheduled to take another vote tomorrow on confidence in Summers, according to The Washington Post. The faculty acts as a symbolic voting body and has no power in Harvard's final decisions regarding faculty.
AU is no stranger to presidential drama. Richard Berendzen, who was president of AU from 1980 to 1990, resigned while being investigated for making harassing phone calls from his university office. While it is difficult for a president to serve a university without faculty support, student support can be powerful, said Berendzen, a Harvard alumnus. He said student support played a large role in his decision to return to AU as an astronomy professor. He received hundreds of calls and letters from students expressing their support, and still hears from alumni a decade later, he said.
"A university is a place for students and faculty to interact; it's the job of the administration to keep the lights on, bring in the money, build the new buildings," Berendzen said. "If you're an academic, students are the heart of the university, and they can be a very powerful force."
Berendzen announced last week he will be retiring from his teaching position in August.
Former AU president Benjamin Ladner resigned last October after an auditor's report found he misused university money for personal expenses. Students, faculty and staff were vocal in lobbying the AU board of trustees for his removal.
Summers told reporters he made the decision to resign with regret, but felt it was best for the university in light of ongoing conflicts with professors that proved to be "insurmountable," according to the Chronicle. He said the Harvard Corporation, Harvard's seven-member governing board, had not been a part of his decision to resign his position and had been very supportive.
Some felt Summers had done harm with his statements last year regarding women and the sciences. AU science professor David Carlini, who teaches genetics, said he disagreed with Summers' statements and felt he had had a negative impact on women and science education.
"In an educational institution where you are trying to promote learning, people should not be making comments like that about any discipline," Carlini said. "If Summers were to specifically say that he was wrong, that he should not be heading an academic institution and that is the reason he is stepping down, then possibly that would help. But I think it's a little late."
Emily Caponetti, president of the Democratic Women and Friends of AU, said Summers' comments about women last year had been of great concern to the group, which held a panel discussion with experts from several fields in October. Caponetti said she was uncertain that Summers should have resigned at the time as a result, but wished he had done more to clarify his statements, acknowledge his error and apologize instead of relying on his representatives to deal with the fallout.
"He is someone who, as the president of Harvard, has a great deal of influence," Caponetti said. "It was highly inappropriate to make such demeaning comments that did a disservice to both Harvard and all women in the sciences. Now that he has resigned, those comments were the hallmark of his tenure, and he owes the university an apology and an acknowledgement that he marred its name."
A critical point in the conflict between faculty and Summers came this month when professors expressed criticism for what they saw as Summers' role in forcing out Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean William C. Kirby. Some professors felt he should have resigned immediately, while others said they felt shock and sadness at his resignation, according to the Chronicle.
Harvard students largely expressed support for Summers. According an online poll by Harvard's newspaper, the Harvard Crimson, undergraduates did not think Summers should resign by a three to one margin, according to The Washington Post.
Summers did not specifically address his controversial statements, but said instead there were times when he could have "challenged the community more wisely and more respectfully," according to the Chronicle. Summers will remain on as Harvard president until June 30. He will be replaced by Derek C. Bok, who served as Harvard president from 1971 until 1991, on a temporary basis.
