Faculty Debate How To Best Use Bully Pulpit

After the selection of Lawrence H. Summers to be Harvard's next President, professors on the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) say they anticipate that a man used to the national stage would remain a high-profile figure during his stay in Massachusetts Hall, a sharp contrast to soft-spoken current President Neil L. Rudenstine.

But they disagree as to how much Summers should emphasize his public role. While some praise the selection of a president who may conspicuously advocate at least an educational agenda, dissenters fear that Summers' track record in government and the global economy may mean undergraduate education will be left on the back burner.

"There's a difference between being president of the university and being a public intellectual," said Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology Theda Skocpol, "and I'm sure he will need to think about that."

Pulpitschmulpit

Many professors say they look forward to Summers making an impact on the national scene, hoping that where issues of education are concerned,

Many professors look forward to Summers contributing to national political discourse, especially in the realm of education.

"It's very good to have a president who can speak out on major national issues," said Pforzheimer University Professor Sidney H. Verba '53 . "Neil Rudenstine was an academic whose whole career, except for a few years, had been within universities. [Summers] may be more of an outspoken figure, and that would be to the good."

"I had hoped that the new president would be a person who would be a spokesman outside the academy as well as inside it for key educational issues," echoed English Department Chair Lawrence Buell, "Larry Summers has not hesitated to take a strong position in public forums...The higher education community lacks leadership of that sort."

Summers' preexisting visibility in both academic and political circles may mean that if he does choose to speak on national issues, he will be heard more widely than his predecessor, according to Judith B. McLaughlin, an expert on leadership transitions at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

But former University President Derek C. Bok said that Summers should use his bully pulpit carefully.

"I don't happen to belong to that group of people who think that Harvard presidents should speak out on all kinds of things outside the realm of education," he said, "[but] in Secretary Summers' case, one might want to relax that a little bit, because there are some issues about the global economy that he has expertise in."

But prominent conservative Harvey C. Mansfield '53, Kenan professor of government, admonished Summers to leave his interest in developing nations in Washington, and make combating grade inflation and encouraging academic competition his top priorities.

"Harvard needs to turn inward and look at our own needs," Mansfield said. "We need to pay more attention to our fundamental goal, not just social justice but learning and maintaining standards of learning. I hope he'll spend more time in the ivory tower and less time in politics and the world at large."

Experience BF

Harvard professors engaged in similar debates over how Summers' experience in government and the economy as well as academia will affect his presidency.

Verba said Summers' work in Washington would serve him well.

"He ran the world economy," he said. "It's not as difficult as running Harvard, but he should have some background experience."

Former Harvard President Nathan M. Pusey '28 cited Summers' international expertise as a valuable commodity for the university.

"The fact that he has had international experience is to his advantage," Pusey said. "Harvard is so much in the big world that the president has to devote quite a lot of thought to that."

And Leverett Professor in the University Jerry R. Green, who taught Summers, said he felt that the new president's "basic economic intuition" would be invaluable in managing the university.

But Bok cautioned that Summers' ease with the market could lead the university in risky directions.

"There are big issues having to do with the dangers of commercialization within the University," said Bok, "that create risks for very important values of the University," he said. "They need to be defended."

And other members of FAS worried that Summers' past in politics may induce skepticism as to his academic openmindedness.

"One hopes that [a University] can maintain an atmosphere of open inquiry, particularly to be free from the accepted pieties of one's own time," said Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature Ruth R. Wisse. "Is someone so involved in the political process who has signed on to so many ideas able to take on this higher obligation? I guess that will be his task."

Fair and Square

Even Summers' area of academic expertise-economics-represents a departure from the traditional ideal of a primarily humanities-minded university president, such as Professor of English and American Literature and Language Rudenstine.

Verba felt that Summers' applied intellectual temperament would not pose an obstacle.

"You bring in a professor of comparative literature who's an expert in the humanities," he said, "and he wouldn't know anything about the natural sciences. What makes these people successful is their ability to transcend their own disciplines."

But Mansfield questioned Summers' appropriateness as the Harvard mascot.

"Economists tend to be squares," said Mansfield, "so we'll need to teach him a love of poetry and a love of sports."

But they disagree as to how much Summers should emphasize his public role. While some praise the selection of a president who may conspicuously advocate at least an educational agenda, dissenters fear that Summers' track record in government and the global economy may mean undergraduate education will be left on the back burner.

"There's a difference between being president of the university and being a public intellectual," said Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology Theda Skocpol, "and I'm sure he will need to think about that."

Pulpitschmulpit

Many professors say they look forward to Summers making an impact on the national scene, hoping that where issues of education are concerned,

Many professors look forward to Summers contributing to national political discourse, especially in the realm of education.

"It's very good to have a president who can speak out on major national issues," said Pforzheimer University Professor Sidney H. Verba '53 . "Neil Rudenstine was an academic whose whole career, except for a few years, had been within universities. [Summers] may be more of an outspoken figure, and that would be to the good."

"I had hoped that the new president would be a person who would be a spokesman outside the academy as well as inside it for key educational issues," echoed English Department Chair Lawrence Buell, "Larry Summers has not hesitated to take a strong position in public forums...The higher education community lacks leadership of that sort."

Summers' preexisting visibility in both academic and political circles may mean that if he does choose to speak on national issues, he will be heard more widely than his predecessor, according to Judith B. McLaughlin, an expert on leadership transitions at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

But former University President Derek C. Bok said that Summers should use his bully pulpit carefully.

"I don't happen to belong to that group of people who think that Harvard presidents should speak out on all kinds of things outside the realm of education," he said, "[but] in Secretary Summers' case, one might want to relax that a little bit, because there are some issues about the global economy that he has expertise in."

But prominent conservative Harvey C. Mansfield '53, Kenan professor of government, admonished Summers to leave his interest in developing nations in Washington, and make combating grade inflation and encouraging academic competition his top priorities.

"Harvard needs to turn inward and look at our own needs," Mansfield said. "We need to pay more attention to our fundamental goal, not just social justice but learning and maintaining standards of learning. I hope he'll spend more time in the ivory tower and less time in politics and the world at large."

Experience BF

Harvard professors engaged in similar debates over how Summers' experience in government and the economy as well as academia will affect his presidency.

Verba said Summers' work in Washington would serve him well.

"He ran the world economy," he said. "It's not as difficult as running Harvard, but he should have some background experience."

Former Harvard President Nathan M. Pusey '28 cited Summers' international expertise as a valuable commodity for the university.

"The fact that he has had international experience is to his advantage," Pusey said. "Harvard is so much in the big world that the president has to devote quite a lot of thought to that."

And Leverett Professor in the University Jerry R. Green, who taught Summers, said he felt that the new president's "basic economic intuition" would be invaluable in managing the university.

But Bok cautioned that Summers' ease with the market could lead the university in risky directions.

"There are big issues having to do with the dangers of commercialization within the University," said Bok, "that create risks for very important values of the University," he said. "They need to be defended."

And other members of FAS worried that Summers' past in politics may induce skepticism as to his academic openmindedness.

"One hopes that [a University] can maintain an atmosphere of open inquiry, particularly to be free from the accepted pieties of one's own time," said Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature Ruth R. Wisse. "Is someone so involved in the political process who has signed on to so many ideas able to take on this higher obligation? I guess that will be his task."

Fair and Square

Even Summers' area of academic expertise-economics-represents a departure from the traditional ideal of a primarily humanities-minded university president, such as Professor of English and American Literature and Language Rudenstine.

Verba felt that Summers' applied intellectual temperament would not pose an obstacle.

"You bring in a professor of comparative literature who's an expert in the humanities," he said, "and he wouldn't know anything about the natural sciences. What makes these people successful is their ability to transcend their own disciplines."

But Mansfield questioned Summers' appropriateness as the Harvard mascot.

"Economists tend to be squares," said Mansfield, "so we'll need to teach him a love of poetry and a love of sports."