Summers Installed as President

Harvard lore holds that it never rains on Commencement. The same, it seems, is true for presidential installations.

After a week of bitter cold, sunny skies and unseasonably warm temperatures prevailed on Friday for the installation of Harvard’s 27th president, Lawrence Henry Summers.

The inauguration, a formal beginning for Summers, featured an elaborate ceremony with ancient Harvard symbols, as well as speeches from the University’s biggest movers and shakers—and the most definitive statement of policy yet from the president himself (see related story).

The installation ceremony was the capstone to two days of festivities, including student performances, faculty symposia and a reception. More than 5,000 people came to Tercentenary Theatre for the day of pomp and circumstance.

Preparing For Pomp

Early in the afternoon, administrators, faculty members and others in the academic procession donned their traditional regalia and assembled in front of Boylston Hall.

As he stood by the “Corporation” sign, Harvard Corporation member James R. Houghton ’58 pointed to the clear blue sky and described the day as a “typical Harvard” affair. “This is a great day—for a great new president,” he said.

Plummer Professor of Christian Morals Peter J. Gomes noted the particularly festive atmosphere. “There’s a very good mood in the air,” he said. “People are up.”

As the faculty began to congregate, Neil L. Rudenstine, Harvard’s 26th president, mingled among them, shaking hands and sharing updates of his new life in New York City.

“It’s terrific to be back,” he said. “It’s a great launch [for Summers].”

One hundred seventy delegates representing national and international universities lined up beside Widener Library.

For Stanford University’s representative, Kenneth J. Arrow, the event was more than a milestone for higher education. Arrow, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, is Summers’ uncle.

As he waited for the procession to begin, Arrow reflected on his nephew’s meteoric rise.

“I would never have expected Larry to do this,” he said. “I thought of him as a scholar, a scholar with a bent for organization.”

Nearby, a slightly “anxious” Paul A. Gusmorino ’02, the Undergraduate Council president, said he was glad to be the first student to give a speech at a Harvard presidential installation.

“I’m excited, and it’s a beautiful day,” he said. “I’m so happy they decided to have a student speaker.”

The Ceremony Begins

As the band played the music of Leonard Bernstein ’39, the procession began.

Brightly colored leaves drifted down toward audience as the Memorial Church bell chimed.

Gusmorino urged Summers to seize the opportunity provided by his office.

“You have the opportunity to transform undergraduate education, ensuring that our learning need never be confined to the classroom,” he said.

Harvard Alumni Association President Karen S. Kelly ’80 pledged Summers the full support of the alumni body—and especially hers, as Summers’ “former and favorite Ec 10 student.”

And representing colleges and universities, Yale President Richard C. Levin praised Harvard’s international reputation and brainpower.

“Harvard is blessed with the broadest and deepest assembly of intellectual talent and academic resources in the world, and it is to Harvard that the whole world looks for leadership,” he said. “These are mere facts, but, believe me, these are not easy things for a Yale president to say.”

Tradition Unveiled

The ceremony was fraught with Harvard’s rich history—an interaction of new and old.

As President of the Board of Overseers Richard E. Oldenburg ’54 prepared to deliver three insignia to the President—two silver keys, two seals of the College and the earliest College record—he encouraged Summers to preserve Harvard’s strength while also realizing the need for change.

“We also charge you to acknowledge shortcomings where they exist and act to repair them without fear of resistance to change,” he said.

Senior Fellow of the Harvard Corporation Robert G. Stone Jr. ’45 noted that the symbolic keys unlock no tangible Harvard doors.

But he said that over time, Summers would open many doors at Harvard, “some ancient, and new—to learning, to opportunity, and to knowledge in the service of society.”

Finally, Summers was invited to sit in the historic Harvard president’s chair—an uncomfortable feat, he later implied, although he grinned as he took his seat in the Holyoke chair.

Addressing Harvard’s Future

When he came to the podium, Summers began his address with an unscripted, enthusiastic, “I accept!” that echoed his original Loeb House press conference almost seven months ago, when the University first officially introduced him as its choice.

But Friday, after months of consulting, planning and getting acquainted with Harvard, Summers was more specific and forthcoming than he was in March.

He introduced plans for University reform, highlighting the need for a targeted approach to undergraduate education, University unity, science programs and globalization.

He also talked about long-range issues including physical expansion and financial aid (see related story, page A-1).

“We will need in the years ahead to ensure that teaching and learning are everything they can be here,” he said, “especially at the very heart of the University—Harvard College.”

The installation concluded as the bells of the city of Cambridge rang for the third time in honor of a Harvard president taking office, the first time since 1909 and the inauguration of A. Lawrence Lowell, Class of 1877.

Friends Of Larry

After the ceremony, participants and audience members filed out of the Yard towards Loeb House for an hors d’oeuvres and dessert reception.

As students, faculty and major donors munched on truffles and cucumber sandwiches, Summers shook hands with guests.

“It’s one of those moments in history where someone who deserves something ends up where he belongs,” said Summers’ childhood friend Richard Neff. “He’s the most loyal, wonderful person. No matter what he’s achieved, he’s still Larry.”

Another old friend—Summers’ predecessor as Secretary of the Treasury, Robert E. Rubin ’60—said he was impressed by Summers’ speech.

Rubin, whose lobbying was vital to getting Summers the spot, said, “It was Larry—smart, thoughtful, good sense of humor.”

—Staff writers David H. Gellis and Kate L. Rakoczy contributed to the reporting of this story.

—Staff writer Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at shoichet@fas.harvard.edu.