After Term, Professors Wary of Summers’ Style

In the days after Lawrence H. Summers was named Harvard’s 27th president, professors in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) lauded his reputation at the United States Treasury—an opinionated, straightforward leader who wasn’t afraid to stake out and defend unpopular positions.

But for some senior professors in FAS, the initial perception of Summers as a bold leader has transformed into one of a headstrong leader.

In the first half-year of his presidency, Summers has become a regular in national headlines and has seemingly stirred up more controversy than Neil L. Rudenstine did in his decade-long tenure as president.

But the pace of his progress has carried a stiff price—a trail of professors extending far past the Department of Afro-American Studies is uneasy with a style they characterize as inattentive and stubborn rather than merely assertive and direct. While a faculty with more than 400 tenured members has a broad spectrum of opinions, professors say grumblings about the President’s style are emanating from many corners of the Faculty.

Summers says that his decisions are made based on careful consideration of individual cases and issues rather than “general principle.” While acknowledging that “sometimes decisions have to be made where there are divided views,” he says that, “Ultimately, [the University] moves in a consensual way.”

But, says one senior professor, “the feeling is that he’s not building consensus.”

“Will we all get used to [Summers’ style]? I hope so,” says Professor of Government Jennifer L. Hochschild. “But if it has the effect of upsetting major departments, it’s deeply problematic.”

A ‘Touchy Topic’

The criticism of Summers has focused more on his modus operandi than his rapidly developing curriculum vitae as President.

According to Professor of the History of Science Everett I. Mendelsohn, Summers earned high marks from Faculty for his delicate handling of the Harvard Committee on Employment and Contracting Policies’ report on wages for Harvard’s lower-paid workers and his statement in a December Faculty meeting about the University’s handling of federal information requests about foreign students.

But, Mendelsohn says, those encouraging signs only partially mitigated the climate of nervousness about Summers that preceded his arrival and was exacerbated by the public controversy with Fletcher University Professor Cornel R. West ’74, which was viewed by administrators as a clash of style rather than substance.

“Everyone heard he was a very bright man with a tendency for arrogance,” he says. “There was a bit of wariness from advance publicity.”

Professors are careful not to criticize him too loudly. Even typically outspoken Kenan Professor of Government Harvey C. Mansfield ’53 calls Summers’ interaction with Faculty a “touchy topic.”

“He’s clearly going to be a strong president,” Mansfield says, “but he has to keep the community with him.”

Perhaps the one issue on which Summers has built complete consensus is that his approach could not be more different from the formal, delicate, and collegial proceedings characterized by Rudenstine and outgoing Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles.

Not all Faculty are wishing for a return to the Rudenstine era. Wolfson Professor of Jewish Studies Jay M. Harris called Summers’ willingness to challenge professors “refreshing.”

According to Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature Ruth R. Wisse, Summers’ straightforwardness may put him at an unfair political disadvantage.

“Perhaps it’s easier to see the risks of leaders who give a very clear direction where they want to lead,” she says.

And according to Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology Theda Skocpol, just because Summers is more direct than his predecessor does not mean professors cannot be heard. “He’s a vigorous questioner and a critical listener,” she says. “If he doesn’t agree, he’s likely to say that. You can get through to him if you’re well-prepared and talk back.”

Predisposed Positions

But, says Skocpol, Harvard Faculty are not used to being put so openly on the defensive. “He’s not a big respecter of established routine,” she says. “Universities are highly ritualized institutions, and he doesn’t have a knack for it.”

According to Hochschild, Summers’ style can be broken down into three primary approaches, depending on how familiar he feels with an issue.

With issues where he feels like a newcomer, she says, his questioning is straightforward and neutral. Numerous senior Faculty members from the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences alike say Summers appears sincerely inquisitive in committees, is an attentive listener and processes new information rapidly.

But when he has already formed an opinion, Hochschild says, his questioning sometimes appears less than genuine. “He listens to answers but he’s starting from a standpoint,” she says. “He’ll say things like, ‘why would you ever imagine that’ in the guise of a question…Sometimes it sounds like he’s dismissing or disagreeing with you, when in fact it’s just a style. I’m not sure he conveys clearly enough that he’s really listening.”

This style is especially vexing, says Skocpol, when Faculty believe Summers’ position is not well-informed.

“He sometimes forms his views before he’s heard what everyone has to say,” she says. “Sometimes he’s right on the mark and sometimes he’s half-baked, and when he’s half-baked you talk back.”

Summers’ third manner of interacting with faculty, Hochschild says, is when he is firmly set on a view and scarcely expends enough energy to ask slanted questions. Professors who have been on the wrong side of these interchanges are the ones who have been the most vocal in their criticism.

“Once you get behind closed doors among the Faculty, there is a very strong negative reaction to how he is dealing with Faculty,” says one senior professor. “We have a senior Faculty uniformly composed of smart people, who...don’t fall for snap judgements. They don’t disagree with them necessarily, they just believe they should be made in a thoughtful, considered, studied way. So they are angry.”

When professors express concern, the professor says, “he doesn’t really listen to people very much. He’s telling you what he’s going to do. When I’ve been in a committee room and everyone is trying to get him to understand one fact, he’s just not listening.”

Despite the occasional first-year troubles in Summers’ relations with the Faculty, professors still hopefully look toward the future of their dealings with the president.

“There’s nervousness, but the Faculty sincerely wish him well,” Mendelsohn says.

—Staff writer Dan Rosenheck can be reached at rosenhec@fas.harvard.edu.