Summers Lobbies for Federal Funds in D.C.

University President Lawrence H. Summers returned to Washington on Wednesday for the first time since assuming the Harvard post.

Summers’ first visit as president comes in the context of comments by friends and colleagues who have said that Summers is ideally suited to use the bully-pulpit of his position at Harvard. While Rudenstine spoke out on the national stage in measured ways, some at Harvard have said they hope that Summers could do so more vocally and more often.

Summers was one of seven university presidents in town for an event sponsored by the Science Coalition, an organization of research institutions that lobbies for increased science funding.

The event included faculty from the coalition’s 62 member schools, and was intended to focus lawmakers on the need for additional funding of science endeavors. Presidents from Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, MIT, and the State University of New York at Stony Brook attended in addition to Summers.

Former University President Neil L. Rudenstine had attended similar events in the past, but according to Director of Federal and State Relations Kevin M. Casey, the early timing of Summers’ first visit was symbolic of the attention the new president will pay to Washington affairs.

“Neil was very engaged down here, but [for Summers] to come down so soon is symbolic,” Casey said. “Larry comes with a natural feel for the pulse down here. And while it’s not necessarily the same folks he’s used to dealing with, he comes with a name and face that’s known,” he said.

At a dinner on Wednesday night, Summers introduced a familiar face in former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, who he worked with during his time at the Treasury Department.

“Here were two people on seemingly opposite sides of the aisle coming together on the issue of science funding,” Casey said. Despite his reputation as a budget cutter, Gingrich has been a strong supporter of the universities’ goal of greater funding, Casey said.

Yesterday, Summers accompanied a group that included MIT president Charles M. Vest to the White House for meetings with several of President Bush’s domestic policy advisers.

Casey said as part of the coalition, Summers was representing the collective interest of the schools involved, going beyond Harvard’s particular interest.

“The presidents were working collectively to say that science funding is in the nation’s interest,” Casey said.

According to Casey, last year’s budget was one of the best in terms of funding for the broad spectrum of science endeavors.

This year however, Bush’s budget includes a big increase for the National Institute of Health, but keeps funding for science research through the departments of energy and defense relatively constant.

Casey said as a result, university lobbying is now focused on convincing congress to include funding for these other areas.

“The universities involved are expressing the need to fund all of the different sciences, not just biomedical science,” Casey said.

The two Harvard professors who attended the event—Physics Professor Charles M. Marcus and Clay Professor of Mathematics and Theoretical Science Arthur M. Jaffe—came from such non-medical fields.

Casey said that he anticipated Summers would return to Washington to push issues important to Harvard such as increasing federal financial aid spending, modifying the tax code to benefit universities and protecting intellectual property rights. However, he said that he did not expect Summers to adopt a “bully-pulpit” framework.

But at least one college president said he thought otherwise.

“Summers will have a unique role, since no one listens to college presidents anymore,” the president said. “Right now he’s on a honeymoon—getting hour long appearances on the Charlie Rose show.’”

According to the president, Summers will have to work hard, and have people working hard to ensure that he maintains this voice.

—Staff writer David H. Gellis can be reached at gellis@fas.harvard.edu.