Aides Describe Mass. Hall Life

Though University President Lawrence H. Summers has plenty of experience developing economic models for complex policy debates, there’s at least one major optimization problem he can’t solve on his own.

No matter how many hours he spends in Mass. Hall, the former Secretary of the Treasury can’t supply the time that people at Harvard—and beyond—demand.

But behind the scenes, a team of aides is responsible for making sense of his dizzying schedule.

Wherever Summers goes, there they are: a chief of staff, a special assistant and a spokesperson among them.

And even they can’t fit everything in.

“He probably turns down about four times what he does in a day,” says spokesperson Lucie McNeil, who joined Summers’ staff in the middle of his second year.

These assistants have come to play an important role during Summers’ tenure, regularly interacting with top-level administrators and helping to coordinate the details behind University plans and events.

Dealing with the staffers—who are occasionally spotted handing Summers his trademark Diet Coke—has become a familiar routine for many people seeking input from Mass. Hall.

But two of the top aides who Summers hand-picked at the outset of his tenure have left the president’s office to pursue other careers.

And in their place Summers has hired two alums with experience in public service—one of his main educational priorities.

These aides, who often interact with Summers from dawn to dusk,

see a side of Harvard—and its president—that few others are privy to.

Stand By Your Man

Though some observers have said Summers’ management style makes him difficult to work with, his staffers say the daily interactions with him make their jobs worthwhile.

“The best part of my job by far was in the early mornings when I was at his house before we’d go to events, or in the car together and he would just want to talk about any subject that came to his mind and debate it. It was intellectually stimulating and engaging,” says Michael O’Mary ’99-’00, who served as Summers’ special assistant during the first two years of his tenure. “If we were going somewhere, I’d make sure I’d read the papers.”

From his basement office in Mass. Hall, O’Mary served as a fact-finder, helping gather information used in various administrative decisions and in briefing the president before his public appearances.

“He took what I gave him and added it to his base of knowledge,” O’Mary says. “I would often pick up the phone and call Harvard professors—they were able to point me in the right direction. They know more than anyone else on the planet about their area of expertise.”

But Summers is never quick to accept an argument without analysis, according to O’Mary.

“I always found it absolutely fascinating to hear him work through issues,” recalls O’Mary, who is now working for Vermont Gov. Howard Dean’s presidential campaign and plans to attend Boston College Law School next year. “He would lay out arguments and the opposite side just so he understood the opposite side. He always felt if he did not understand the opposite view, he did not want to make a decision about that argument.”

For O’Mary’s replacement Christopher C. Kim ’99, a former high school social studies teacher and director of Harvard’s Undergraduate Teacher Education Program (UTEP), the advisory role is nothing new.

According to new UTEP Director Orin Gutlerner, Kim’s primary role involved recruiting students for the program, which provides teaching certification for undergraduates, and advising them on how to apply for teaching positions.

Kim says he’s looking forward to learning more about the inner workings of the University in his new position.

“The job offers an opportunity to have a neat perspective on all the different things that Harvard does,” he says. “That’s why I took the job.”

Hail to the Chief of Staff

Of course, it’s not easy to turn down a job offer from the University’s top administrator.

When Summers tapped her to fill the chief of staff post, Marne Levine deferred her Harvard Business School (HBS) admission for a year—but liked the job so much that she remained for two.

Levine met Summers when she was working at the Office of Legislative Affairs in Washington, D.C. and he was working in the Treasury department.

Now, as a first-year student at HBS, Levine recalls the daily challenge of prioritizing issues Summers faced.

“There’s so many things that are important to get to, and trying to figure out the priority order of those things is challenging. [Summers] wants to do everything, but it’s hard because there are only so many hours,” she says.

The chief of staff must follow-up on all of the issues that arise in the president’s office, from conversations with deans to student questions during Summers’ monthly office hours, according to Levine.

Yet even with her departure, the chief of staff post hasn’t lost its Washington flare.

Her replacement, Jason Solomon ’93-’95, worked as a communications aide in President Clinton’s White House and a staff member for former Secretary of the Treasury Robert E. Rubin ’60.

And Solomon also knows how to deal with the media as a former journalist himself.

During his undergraduate years,Solomon was an editor of Fifteen Minutes, the Crimson’s weekly magazine. His former Crimson colleagues recall his sense of humor in the newsroom and his strong leadership skills.

“If there’s someone who can process all the bits of Harvard and synthesize and figure out nuances that need to be compromised and discussed, Jason can do that,” recalls former Crimson President Julian E. Barnes ’93. “When you’re dealing with all the egos of Harvard, you’ve got to have someone who wants to learn from people and treats people with respect.”

Solomon says he’s eager to learn from Summers and other Mass. Hall colleagues—noting that despite Summers’ full schedule, the president manages to stay on top of things.

“[Summers] has a mind like steel trap. He remembers more than his staff does,” Solomon says.

But Solomon says that Summers’ status as a public figure makes his need for assistants all the more important.

Summers may ultimately call the shots, but Solomon has already taken the lead in at least one change in Mass. Hall.

The proof? A secretary at the front desk contacted The Crimson, at Solomon’s request, to make sure that copies of FM will start to be delivered to the president’s office every week.

—Staff writer Jenifer L. Steinhardt can be reached at steinhar@fas.harvard.edu.