Harvard Faculty Again Grills Summers

Harvard University President Lawrence H. Summers faced another round of tough questions from disgruntled faculty Tuesday, but avoided a no-confidence vote in a meeting participants described as collegial.

“I think everyone has calmed down,” said Ruth Wisse, a literature professor who has supported Summers, as she emerged from the two-hour meeting of about 500 Faculty of Arts and Sciences members on the Harvard campus.

The group rejected a proposal that a three-person committee of administrators and faculty mediate between Summers and university professors, according to attendees and an online account by the Harvard Crimson, the only media outlet allowed at the meeting.

Summers’ management style and controversial remarks in January about women in science sparked opposition at a faculty meeting last week that Summers described as “searing.”

This time, in his opening remarks, which were released by the university, Summers said he was “committed to opening a new chapter in my work with you,” and pledged to “seek to listen more -- and more carefully -- and to temper my words and actions in ways that convey respect and help us work together more harmoniously. No doubt I will not always get things right. But I am determined to set a different tone.”

Afterward, he issued a statement calling the discussions “candid and thoughtful” and said he hoped they would “help all of us move forward together in the most collegial ways possible.”

Attendees said Summers faced more sharp questions and complaints, although some in attendance voiced support.

One professor said he would put a vote of “no confidence” on the docket for the next faculty meeting March 15.

Students lined the route attendees followed into the lecture hall where Tuesday’s meeting took place. Some students called on the Harvard Corporation, the university’s governing body, to “lay off Larry,” while others showed support for Summers.