In Harvard Classrooms, Summers’ Co-Instructors Address His Sudden Exit

Harvard professors who co-taught courses with former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers this semester responded in sharply different ways to his sudden departure from the classroom when they briefly acknowledged the fallout from Summers’ emails with convicted sex offender Jeffrey E. Epstein in class on Thursday.

Harvard Kennedy School professor Jeffrey Liebman — who has co-taught ECON 1420: “American Economic Policy” with Summers all semester — condemned Summers’ conduct as “inexcusable” and told students Thursday morning he was “pissed off” and “repulsed” by Summers’ exchanges with Epstein, according to three students in attendance.

But just hours earlier, fellow HKS professor Robert Lawrence struck a far more muted tone with students in Gen Ed 1120: “The Political Economy of Globalization.” After briefly noting that Summers had stepped back from teaching, he went on to praise Summers for his contributions to the course, reading from a prewritten script.

“As I’m sure you are all aware, Larry has decided to step down from his teaching responsibilities this semester,” Lawrence said, according to a recording obtained by The Crimson. “I’m really sorry for the undoubted disruption it’s going to cause all of you.”

“We will miss his insights and his wisdom,” Lawrence continued.

Instantly, some students took issue with the remark.

“No, we won’t,” one student shouted back, drawing claps and laughter. Another student quietly responded, saying “Yes, we will,” according to three students in the class.

Lawrence did not address the interruption and quickly returned to the day’s lesson — a guest talk by Tony Blair, the former United Kingdom prime minister.

A spokesperson for Summers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Summers’ absence in the classroom Thursday morning marked a sharp about-face. After assuring students Monday night that he would continue teaching, he abruptly announced that he would take a leave from teaching on Wednesday amid intensifying scrutiny of his emails and rising backlash from students and faculty.

The Crimson reported on Sunday that Summers expressed a romantic interest in a woman he described as a mentee of his. Over seven months of back-and-forth exchanges, Epstein often workshopped Summers’ texts and gave feedback on his interactions, going as far as calling himself Summers’ “wing man.”

Lawmakers also stepped up calls for action against Summers, with President Donald Trump urging the Justice Department to open an investigation into Summers and members of Congress, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), calling for his ouster or resignation from Harvard.

Summers said on Monday that he would withdraw from his public commitments. He gave up or was let go from several prominent organizations outside of Harvard that he was affiliated with, including his role as an advisor for OpenAI and as a contributor to The New York Times and Bloomberg.

​​—Staff writer Dhruv T. Patel can be reached at dhruv.patel@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @dhruvtkpatel.

—Staff writer Cam N. Srivastava can be reached at cam.srivastava@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @camsrivastava.