Reflections of a Department Chair

The single most significant impact of University President Lawrence H. Summers on my department during my time as chair was that of enlightenment, in a profound way, on gender issues. He dissected and criticized the process by which we were analyzing our candidates for appointments and promotions. He researched our methods to a degree that was stunning, and my reporting of his methods to our department had a profound effect. He had to be taken seriously initially if for no other reason than the enormous effort that he put into this undertaking. After months of discussions at numerous, consecutive Faculty meetings with the entire Faculty (or at least those members who are attendees), the department recognized that there had been flaws in our process.

The initial response to Summers’ probing was predictable based on human nature: We reacted defensively. “We are all objective and fair-minded. Who is he to think we behave in any way other than fair and reasoned?”

But after studying his specific criticisms, we began to recognize that our judgments were being shaped by our cultural histories and that we were judging men and women by a slightly different set of criteria.

We next undertook a re-evaluation of a specific case concerning a young scholar at a competing institution; in the previous instance, we had declined to make her an offer. In the light of the specific process that Larry proposed, we came to a very different conclusion than we had previously. A unanimous vote supported our offering her a tenured appointment in our department, and we aggressively and enthusiastically pursued her recruitment to Harvard.

Summers probably has no idea of the impact of his actions—I’m certain that he is unaware of the effect on this specific case based on a puzzled look he offered when we came back somewhat sheepishly with our new conclusion. He did not oversee this process; instead, he planted powerful seeds and nurtured them by offering a consistent and logical policy and process.

He cannot possibly understand the longer-term effects of his actions, as they are just beginning to bear fruit. My colleagues and I have continued with the process put forth by our president, and to our delight, we have uncovered several exceptional women candidates.

These persons currently top our list of candidates for Faculty appointments, and two of them have accepted our invitation to join us this spring as R. B. Woodward Scholars, a type of mini-sabbatical that is especially accommodating to busy schedules. (To my knowledge, they are the first women to be invited to this prestigious scholarship.)

Larry Summers brings to Harvard vision-oriented leadership that is bold and effective. I’ve never felt more pride in being a member of the Harvard community than at this moment in time. We are exceptionally fortunate to have his leadership at the helm, especially regarding matters of diversity within the University.

Stuart L. Schreiber is Loeb Professor of Chemistry and former chair of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology.