<p>Have you seen THIS?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.alumniforharvard.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.alumniforharvard.com/</a></p>
<p>Hmmm, not an impressively long list of alumni who have signed over the past 4 days!</p>
<p>Looking at the names, women constitute a very small % of the group.</p>
<p>It existance was essentially unknown until the story in this morning's Crimson.</p>
<p>joemama--No, I do not. I simply mentioned MIT, Princeton, and Stanford, because they are the 3 schools that have rallied together against President Summers.</p>
<p>Add FOX News to the latest news source covering Summers sexist remarks (Wednesday evening - prime time).</p>
<p>Crimsonbulldog, You seemed to have a knowledge of where things were going with President Summers before others here. Much of what you said was indeed prophetic. Do you have some sense as to how this predicament will play out?</p>
<p>maybe Summers is Byerly</p>
<p>Author John Curtis states his case for the need of President Summers to resign (excerpt):</p>
<p>"Summers ignorant public remarks in the name of scholarship disgrace Harvard but, more importantly, academia. In the special case of science and engineering, Summers said, there are issues of intrinsic aptitude, and particularly of the variability of aptitude, and that those considerations are reinforced by what are in fact lesser factors involving socialization and continuing discrimination, blaming constitutional inferiority for womens lower achievement in scientific disciplines. Summers carefully scripted remarks were no accident or mistake: They mirrored his true views despite his best attempts to say otherwise. His statements disgust all sensible faculty and studentsand others.</p>
<pre><code> Summers, a well-regarded economist, was out-of-bounds airing his ignorant personal views, better left to anthropologists, zoologists, geneticists and scientists whose academic careers are spent debating chicken-and-egg issues. Summers gaffe can only be interpreted as a latent desire for early retirement from his job as Harvard University president. No individual so used to the public eye can possibly air such offensive remarks without serious consequences. I made a big mistakeI was wrong, said Summers, Im somebody who does try to provoke and challenge, and often that can be constructive, but sometimes that leads to big mistakes, engaging in damage control but failing to see how he killed his moral authority at Harvard. Not only did Summers disgrace the university but he destroyed his leadership, leaving him no option other than gracefully resigning.
Weathering the storm assumes that Harvards faculty, students and governing board can tolerate continuing public relations damage to the university. Like elected officials, university presidents hold symbolic value and are held to a higher standard. What message does it send to overlook such reprehensible statements? Summers knew full-well the consequences of airing his offensive personal views. Asking for forgiveness is one thing but expecting to lead the university is still another. I think the most important question is how many of these incidents can Harvard take before there is a permanent sense that it has a president problem, said Richard Bradley, author of the forthcoming book, Harvard Rules. Like former Sen. Majority Leader Trent Lott, its not that his remarks were so malicious or unforgivable: Its that Summers judgment could be so atrocious.
Instead of apologizing profusely immediately after his gaffe, Summers fueled his demise making more excuses. He insisted he presented provocative hypotheses of other researchers, not his own personal views. Yet no one can find scientific research examining the constitutional inferiority of women for math and science. Calling Summers comments hogwash, New Yorks Oneonta State University College chemistry professor John C. Kotz found no academic basis to Summers views. Summers has impressive credentials but he no longer enjoys that precious commodity called respect. No part of the Harvard communityor others for that mattercan put faith in someone in whom theyve lost respect. Riding on his past celebrity or Cabinet post cant make up for the loss of credibility that stems from his own words: No public apology will do.
Looking at the bigger picture, Summers is a self-wounded leader, unable to command the admiration and respect needed as Harvards president. Words do count. Dismissing his remarks as inconsequential ignores his incredibly bad judgment that could easily translate into other areas. Hes an excellent president with a vision and an energy and a focus, said former University of Chicago president and current member of Harvards powerful governing board, unwilling to admit that Summers views on women strike at the heart of Harvards institutional soul. Many otherwise respectable individuals, both in an out of government, have paid a draconian price for speaking out of line. Whether Summers promotes womens equality has nothing to do with accepting consequences of his own actions. Verbal apologies arent enough. He must show real contrition and step aside.
</code></pre>
<p>About the Author</p>
<p>John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. Hes editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.</p>
<p>I think Summers will survive this as the FAS is just getting a little too out of hand with the crusade and everyone is starting to realize it. Harvard is bigger than the FAS and though it is the highly symbolic "core" of the university, the other faculties are the real heartbeat (like my beloved medical school). Unfortunately, I think this will severely weaken Summers' attempt at effecting substantive change to the college curriculum and physical plans in Allston. Pretty much he was brought into ruffle the feathers and clean up, but in the process he has unified the old geezers into a very public and critical voice of opposition to Summers. He's already tip toeing like crazy and I can forsee some years of impotence and "task forces" until he again has the confidence to push harvard into the 21st century. Its a shame because Harvard college really does need to renovate its curriculum...</p>
<p>I also believe that Summers was not the right choice for leading such a revolution at Harvard. If the corporations' intent was to change harvard so much, they must have foresaw some upheaval and would have been better with an eloquent and social diplomat - instead of a brute, who though brilliant, forgot to include the faculty in changes that would directly affect them.</p>
<p>Crimson, I agree with you. However, how long before Summers stumbles again. Can he contain his basic nature? Many controversial issues still loom (eg. divestment, employee benefits and wages, etc.) each of which must be handled with utmost care. Is he capable?</p>
<p>I think the man has learned his lesson, embarrasingly in public. If he blunders again, then I think his removal/resignation to be more likely.</p>
<p>And I guess I was just proven correct today, though I do disagree with the pretext (this time) for the malcontent faculty's coup.</p>
<p>Everybody had to know this was coming after a vote of no-confidence (and another coming) from the largest and best-endowed division of the University.</p>
<p>well, to you its obvious, but reading through this thread, you will see that many of the entrenched crimson trolls did not agree.</p>
<p>I guess. :|</p>
<p>I don't think it's a matter of being Crimson trolls. I'm as big a Harvard booster as you'll ever find, and I've never been a Summers fan -- I was disappointed by this bull-in-a-china-shop management technique almost from the get-go.</p>
<p>I think this is partly a generation-gap issue. Alumni of my era (1999), as a generalizationm, have been a lot less loyal to Summers than those from the late 60's and earlier.</p>
<p>Are you implying something about Byerly?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Ziegler Professor of Business Administration Stephen P. Bradley, said that the resignation sets a bad precedent that the Faculty (of Arts and Sciences) overturned the president. </p>
<p>The FAS acted unilaterally and the nine professional schools were eliminated from any active discussion, Bradley said.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>
[quote]
I think this is an academic coup detat engineered by the hard left and stimulated by Summers politically-incorrect statements, but then joined by an assortment of othersincluding some who had been dismissed and disempowered by Summers, some who didnt like his style, and a few well-intentioned people who didnt understand the damage they were doing to the University, Dershowitz said yesterday.
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<p>The ousting of Summers, engineered by some 'central' minority really raises some structural questions about 'corporate' governance at Harvard. </p>
<p>What sort of leader was Bok btw that he 'survived' the system in office for 2 decades?</p>
<p>thinkjose1, I'm talking about a much wider pattern than what occurred on this board. a generation-gap theory also explains why Harvard alumni differ so widely in their perceptions of whether the alumni community is pro- or anti-Summers; it's because most of us primarily see and talk to others of our own generation. The '99's aren't hanging out with the '56's.</p>