<p>University President Lawrence H. Summers will now face a battle to keep command of the Facultyif not his presidencyafter professors assailed him at yesterdays Faculty meeting for intimidating colleagues, tarnishing the Harvard name, and abusing his power.
Over 250 faculty members crowded University Hall for the meeting, many of them forced to sit on the floor and stand under doorways as the debate quickly developed into a one-sided assault on Summers, who sat subdued throughout the ordeal. </p>
<p>Todays 90-minute session concluded with a unanimous vote to hold an emergency meeting of the Faculty next Tuesday to further discuss what Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies Diana L. Eck called the widenening crisis of confidence in Summers fitness to lead the University.
Though the format of next Tuesdays meeting is still unclear, many say it will include a vote measuring Faculty confidence in Summersand they say such a vote would probably not go in Summers favor....</p>
<p>While most professors said it is unlikely that Summers will resign as University president before Tuesdays meeting, they did not rule out the possibility of a resignation in the near future....</p>
<p>Not only that, he let the manager of the Harvard endowment get away. This financial manager -- a real investment genius, I guess--was responsible for the fantastic growth of Harvard's endowment over the past 5 years.</p>
<p>ouch. summers is getting burned. now i wonder what byerly, the greatest summers-worshiper of all time, has to say about this. probably whip up some defense backed up with a long list of statistics.</p>
<p>And just what exactly do you expect from him, allureNY86? If the man likes Summers, and has compelling arguments (and stats to back them up), then fine by me.</p>
<p>The irony is that this quotation may turn out to be correct, but for the wrong reason.</p>
<p>When Summers receives a no-confidence vote or is forced to resign, this <em>may</em> have the effect of reform ... people like him will begin to realize that thinly-veiled sexism, autocracy, and racism have no role in a leading 21st-century American university.</p>
<p>Okay, I have to post--tell me, you all, where does this bitterness toward Summers come from? If anything, I would think incoming freshmen would appreciate some of the things he's done for Harvard. </p>
<p>Summers has cracked down on the ultra-liberal faculty at Harvard; he's pushed for more courses taught by faculty; he started asking faculty members for more comprehensive syllabi.</p>
<p>Summers' comments of last month were not discriminatory toward women. He suggested that we should study whether differences exist between men and women in their facilities to learn science--he did not say "men are smarter than women and better at science." If anything, women should appreciate his comments--he's seeking to study HOW women learn science most effectively. He cited issues of nurture in his speech--HOW we raise girls in this society that creates a male-dominated science field. </p>
<p>My guess is that a lot of you girls attacking Summers on those comments have often complained about a teacher who "doesn't try/know how to teach girls." You should think about what Summers was really saying before jumping down his throat. </p>
<p>Furthermore, we have no evidence to suggest that the head of the endowment left because of Summers.</p>
<p>Oh, and before I get reply posts about being a sexist chauvinist, I am informing you all that I am a girl. ;)</p>
<p>Summers continues to soil the prestige and reputation of Harvad. It's likely that the trustees have quietly launched a search for a new president. It will take some months. Summers is, as they say, a "dead man walking."</p>
<p>"Summers continues to soil the prestige and reputation of Harvad. It's likely that the trustees have quietly launched a search for a new president. It will take some months. Summers is, as they say, a "dead man walking.""</p>
<p>Well...you've convinced me. Hey...let's all go jump off a bridge together!</p>
<p>I agree with sunglasses. Give the man a chance; it's not like he's actually done anything against women in science or any other field. No one really knows what he really said, anyways; better to get the transcript out so everyone can know what was the context of his remarks. I personally highly doubt that Summers would ever dare to insinuate that sort of idea in a public speech- he didn't get to be the president of Harvard by being so dumb. Therefore, this has to be a misunderstanding. Hopefully this won't turn into a prize opportunity for those faculty who apparently have had their knives sharpened for this moment.</p>
<p>"Okay, I have to post--tell me, you all, where does this bitterness toward Summers come from? If anything, I would think incoming freshmen would appreciate some of the things he's done for Harvard."</p>
<p>What planet are you living on? </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Summers told to two undergraduates recently (reported in the Boston Globe) that if they wanted greater contact with their professors, they should have applied to Williams or Swarthmore (or the Like). Yeah, that's exactly what incoming freshman want to hear.</p></li>
<li><p>Summers comments about women and science are also what incoming female science majors want to hear. Be honest, if you were a parent of a female science student, would you want her on this guy's ship?</p></li>
<li><p>The Cornell West debacle. Whether he had merit or not, Summers handled it terribly (front page news for weeks). If your an incoming student, interested in Afro American studies, I'm sure that's great news as well. </p></li>
<li><p>Power struggles with faculty. How can these squabbles be comforting to incoming freshman?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Give the guy a break. He did introduce some positive changes as well. E.g. the new financial aid initiative for students from financially disadvantaged families. Look at both sides before u start dissing the guy.</p>
<p>even though i'm not his biggest fan, i've got to say that things are getting out of hand. it's not ethical for certain faculty members to pounce on this opportunity to oust him, because of an unrelated ulterior agenda.</p>
<p>Whether people like it or not, the faculty has been after Summers ever since the Cornel West business. On top of scaring him away, he defected to Princeton, which is the Ivy League version of a Texan moving to Oklahoma. Summers opened the door with these comments, and now the faculty is walking on through.</p>
<p>"I personally highly doubt that Summers would ever dare to insinuate that sort of idea in a public speech- he didn't get to be the president of Harvard by being so dumb."</p>
<p>Huh??? Try reading the newspapers during the past month...</p>
<p>1) Although Summers has never agreed to release transcripts of the actual conference, there are many public quotes by him and others in which those "dumb" ideas are reported very directly. In fact, rumors from fairly reliable sources have stated that his <em>actual</em> comments during the conference included statements about the relationship between racial demographics and career choice ... if that turns out to be true, the odds that he keeps his job are 0%.</p>
<p>2) The next day, he issued a statement <em>defending</em> his original comments. Several days later, he quickly backpedaled and began apologizing for the same comments.</p>
<p>3) In terms of the "give the guy a break" mentality, many of the people posting on this board have no idea how big of a jerk Summers is. He almost was not offered the Harvard presidency because this is a well-known fact. Many of the Harvard faculty completely despise him (long before the sex-related comments) because of his arrogant, autocratic, dominating personality.</p>
<p>alphacdd: Do you know the whole background of the Cornell West thing? Don't make this about racism--the issue was not Summers being a racist.</p>
<p>In terms of the LAC comment--I thought that was refreshing. When you choose to go to a big Ivy like Harvard, you're giving up the intimacy of the LACs. Cheers for Summers for being honest.</p>