Summers Resigns

<p>Sources at Crimson report Lawrence Summers is resigning his post as
Harvard President.</p>

<p>................Link?</p>

<p>It's very preliminary right now - let's just say it's from the inside.</p>

<p>WSJ should be reporting it tomorrow.</p>

<p>Where is Sunglasses when we need her?</p>

<p>I have talked to my friends who are staff writers for The Crimson and they mostly say that as of now, it is highly unsubstantiated and is really just a "true rumor." Supposedly The Wall Street Journal is reporting it tomorrow, as chewy3 has mentioned in this thread already. It is highly unlike Summers, who is known for his strong personality, to resign in face of opposition.</p>

<p>cambridgecommon.com</p>

<p>I'm gonna go with them over a freshman with some friends at the crimson.</p>

<p>Cambridgecommon.com is run by a student who my friend says is a good activist but not exactly the most connected. (I wouldn't know, I'm just the messenger.) Anyway, in some sense, it is primetime for Summers to resign because, well, this is just getting ridiculous in terms of petty and petulant in-fighting. Honestly, I think if he resigns, it might be the best for the University, as it is getting almost nothing done right now.</p>

<p>haha i know who runs cambridgecommon.com</p>

<p><a href="http://summers.campustap.com/Home.aspx%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://summers.campustap.com/Home.aspx&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>It's common knowledge that Golis runs cambridgecommon. Anyway, here's one Crimed saying she doesn't believe it--at least not yet. There were reports on Golis's blog that oh, it's known, the Crimson is just writing it now--that were posted four hours ago. Doesn't take that long to write a story. The "leak" email that CC /Summers blog had was taken out of context; the original email was not in any way confirmation that a leak occurred--it was saying that if there was a leak, there shouldn't have been one. My theory is: The Crimson got wind of a rumor; they are trying to figure out whether it is true; a bunch of people have in the meantime not bothered to do any fact-checking and are reporting it as true. I have no doubt that the very millisecond that the Crimson gets confirmation, it will go on the Crimson website. Everyone is so desperate for information, and rumors are flowing so fast, that they wouldn't possibly want to risk getting scooped. In the meantime, there's nothing there, so it means they probably don't really know anything for sure. How come everybody seems to have confirmation from Crimeds except for Crimeds themselves?</p>

<p>Crimison just got out of a meeting - although they are almost certain about their source they will not be publishing the article immediately. They will be waiting for WSJ to do so first.</p>

<p>Stay tuned...</p>

<p>How sporting!</p>

<p>Sub-question: how come my (apparently) best info is coming from a message board for over-anxious high schoolers?</p>

<p>Did you see that several posters on the College Democrats site are peeing in their pants at the notion of AL GORE as Harvard president? ("He'd be AWsome!!")</p>

<p><a href="http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=511455%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=511455&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>(At least I'm pretty sure I know who from THC leaked it now, even if after the fact...)</p>

<p>(emailed to every H student):</p>

<p>Dear Members of the Harvard Community,</p>

<p>I write to let you know that, after considerable reflection, I have notified the Harvard Corporation that I will resign as President of the University as of June 30, 2006. I will always be grateful for the opportunity to have served Harvard in this role, and I will treasure the continuing friendship and support of so many exceptional colleagues and students at Harvard.</p>

<p>Below are links to my letter to the community, as well as a letter from the members of the Corporation and a related news release.</p>

<p>Sincerely,</p>

<p>Larry Summers</p>

<p><a href="http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/daily/2006/02/21-summers.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/daily/2006/02/21-summers.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.president.harvard.edu/speeches/2006/0221_summers.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.president.harvard.edu/speeches/2006/0221_summers.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/daily/2006/02/21-board.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/daily/2006/02/21-board.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/21/education/21cnd-harvard.html?hp&ex=1140584400&en=746cfec911ab609f&ei=5094&partner=homepage%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/21/education/21cnd-harvard.html?hp&ex=1140584400&en=746cfec911ab609f&ei=5094&partner=homepage&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Surprised, Byerly?</p>

<p>He had it come with an entrenched faculty like that. No other university has meaningless politics like Harvard has meaningless politics. Notice how in line Stanford's faculty is in with the president, or Penn's.</p>

<p>Perhaps they sensed a hint of decline at the great university in Cambridge.</p>

<p>Zephyr...</p>

<p>Where do you get this nonsense?? Dude, let it go that Yale rejected you... I know they would be happy that you're carrying the torch for them with the H bashing, but really.</p>

<p>If Summers was president at Stanford, or of Penn, he would have run into the same trouble.
The problem is his management style... good fit for Treasury Dept or industry, bad fit for academia. And you are deluding yourself if you don't think tenure and turf politics is just as ridiculous at EVERY major research university.</p>

<p>I share many, but not all, of the sentments expressed by the prior poster. I differ in that I believe Summers was a excellent academic administrator whose fate was sealed when those who he (rightly) scorned as contemptable turf-protectors showed themselves willing to destroy the university, if necessary, in order to "punish" him.</p>

<p>Yale's tenure system is even more complicated and political than the other Ivies and most other schools because they do not have a tenure track.</p>

<p>I am carrying the torch for Stanford, not Harvard.</p>

<p>We want the number one spot.</p>