Formal Procedure May Hinder Profs’ Attempts To Call Vote Of Confidence

Professors may find it difficult to call an official vote of no confidence in University President Lawrence H. Summers at next Tuesday’s continuation of this Tuesday’s Faculty meeting, due to a stipulation in Faculty Meeting rules that 80 percent of professors must approve calling a vote that is not on the official agenda.

If professors are successful in calling a vote, only a simple majority would then be required for the legislation to pass. However, parliamentary procedure also requires that the vote be retaken at the next Faculty Meeting, scheduled for March 15, so that professors not in attendance have an opportunity to vote.

A declaration of “no confidence” in Summers’ leadership would only be a symbolic gesture—the Corporation is the only body that can force Summers from his post as president.

But the rare and likely unprecedented move to declare no confidence would present a major blow to Summers who, now in his fourth year as president, could find his mandate, and his ability to govern, fatally compromised. Next Tuesday, the Faculty will resume the “Questions Period” session of this week’s meeting, which was never completed. It was in this time slot that professors stood to criticize Summers on Tuesday.

If a motion to hold a vote is brought next week, it must occur in the “New Business” session that immediately follows Questions Period, according to Faculty procedure.

If the vote of confidence is taken but does not pass, it will automatically be placed on the agenda for the March 15 meeting.

If a motion to hold a vote of confidence does not pass, any faculty member may place a vote of confidence on the docket of the March meeting.

In anticipation of unusually high attendance, next Tuesday’s meeting will be held in Lowell Lecture Hall, which has a higher capacity than the University Hall Faculty Room, where meetings are normally held.

The meeting is scheduled to run from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m, though the Faculty may vote to extend the meeting as it sees fit.

The Office of the Secretary of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences confirmed these regulations yesterday.

—Staff writer William C. Marra can be reached at wmarra@fas.harvard.edu.