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Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences voted no confidence in the university’s president, Lawrence H. Summers, on Tuesday.
The vote was 218 to 185, with 18 abstentions. Mr. Summers said after the vote that he planned to continue in his post and to work with the faculty.
The faculty also voted 253 to 137, with 18 abstentions, for a separate and milder motion that amounts to a censure of Mr. Summers for his recent controversial remarks that women may have innate differences of ability from men, as well as for his leadership style. Both votes were by secret ballot.
The no-confidence vote is unprecedented in Harvard’s history. It is a culmination of nearly two months of faculty frustration with Harvard’s leader, whom professors have criticized for what they say is his aggressive and alienating leadership style.
“It was quite dramatic,” said Mary Waters, chair of the sociology department, who voted for both measures but was surprised at the success of the no-confidence vote, which was not expected to pass. “There was an audible gasp when the numbers were announced.”
Claudia Goldin, an economics professor who voted against the no-confidence motion, said she was also surprised -- and disappointed. “This has eaten up a lot of productive time,” she said.
The no-confidence resolution was proposed by J. Lorand Matory, a professor of anthropology and of African and African-American studies, several days before Tuesday’s monthly faculty meeting. It states: “The faculty lacks confidence in the leadership of Lawrence H. Summers.”
The vote may be largely symbolic because the seven-member Harvard Corporation is the only entity that can remove Mr. Summers from the presidency. The board has already come out in support of him. But Mr. Matory called on Mr. Summers to resign, according to the student newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, telling reporters outside the meeting at the Loeb Drama Center: “There is no noble alternative to resignation.”
Mr. Summers has been under fire since a January scholarly meeting, sponsored by the National Bureau of Economic Research, at which he said that one reason why few women make it to the top tiers in mathematics and science could be the innate differences in ability between women and men (The Chronicle, January 28).
The second motion approved by the Harvard faculty was put forth by Theda Skocpol, a professor of government and sociology. It says: “The faculty regrets the president’s mid-January statements about women in science and the adverse consequences of those statements for individuals and for Harvard; and the faculty also regrets aspects of the president’s managerial approach as discussed in recent meetings of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.”
It goes on to say: “The faculty appreciates the president’s stated intent to address these issues, and seeks to meet the challenges facing Harvard in ways that are collegial and consistent with longstanding faculty responsibilities in institutional governance.”
Some scholars, as well as several presidents of elite universities, have criticized Mr. Summers for advancing what they say are harmful and false stereotypes about women. Still other professors inside and outside Harvard have praised Mr. Summers for sparking scholarly discussion about the issue (The Chronicle, March 4).
Tuesday’s session was the third meeting of Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences that focused on Mr. Summers’s comments and his managerial style. He has apologized several times for his remarks, set up two committees to focus on the representation of women at the university, and expressed a willingness to “temper” his words and work with the faculty to create a more open environment.
A group of students, calling themselves Harvard Students for Larry, released a statement on Tuesday saying it was “extremely disappointed” with the faculty for approving both measures.
“This demonstrates a complete rejection of the major tenets of academic freedom and wholesale disregard for the opinion of the student body they instruct,” the statement said, noting that nearly 600 Harvard students have signed a statement, originally published as an editorial in the Crimson on February 18, in support of President Summers.
But Ms. Waters said that there was widespread dissatisfaction with the president among professors. “I don’t wish this on anybody,” she said.
Nevertheless, she defended her vote for the no-confidence measure. “I don’t think he’s the right person for the job,” she said.
After the meeting, according to the Associated Press, Mr. Summers said, “As I said to the faculty, I have tried these last couple months to listen to all that has been said, to learn from it, and to move forward, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Background articles from The Chronicle:
Opinion:
