NEWS ANALYSIS: After Loeb Matinee, Summers Left in Awkward Limbo

The dramatic matinee that played at the Loeb Drama Center yesterday left its audience in stunned disbelief but offered few clues as to the ultimate fate of its embattled protagonist, University President Lawrence H. Summers.

The symbolic sting of the Faculty’s vote seemed likely to diminish Summers’ stature at Harvard and threaten his ability to lead the University. But as the practical effects of the no-confidence motion remained unclear, Summers and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) appeared stuck in an awkward limbo.

Stepping into the imbroglio last night, the University’s secretive governing Corporation issued a show of support in a statement relayed by Summers’ spokeswoman, Lucie McNeil.

“We recognize the concerns that have been expressed, most recently in today’s meeting,” James R. Houghton ’58, senior fellow of the Corporation, said in the statement. “We of course take seriously the views of faculty across Harvard, as all of us move forward to advance the University’s vital academic aims.”

Robert E. Rubin ’60, Summers’ closest friend on the Corporation who has remained silent amid the Faculty uproar, referred questions to Houghton in a brief phone conversation last night.

When asked if Summers had the confidence of the Corporation, Rubin said, “The answer is absolutely yes, but you really ought to be speaking to someone else.”

The backing of the Corporation assured Summers of his job for the time being, but it was unlikely to ameliorate the situation on campus.

Even if yesterday’s vote represented the apex of the two-month conflict between Summers and the Faculty, University leaders are still left without the collective momentum necessary to move forward on a number of top FAS priorities.

In his address at the start of yesterday’s meeting, Dean of the Faculty William C. Kirby added a measure of gravity to the proceedings with a reference to the rhetoric of the American Civil War.

“Let us therefore not emerge now as a faculty divided against itself,” Kirby said. “If we can in this moment seek common ground, for the common good, we can emerge a strong institution, with a renewed sense of belonging and commitment.”

Kirby and Summers both face an uphill battle with the already-delayed curricular review, which has been the subject of intense Faculty criticism.

A newly empowered Faculty may take steps to derail the review, now into its third year, in what would be a major defeat for Summers, who played an integral role in the shaping of the report on general education released this month.

Outside the Faculty meeting, Professor Alan M. Dershowitz—who, as a member of the Law School faculty, was not invited to yesterday’s session—mingled with members of the press on the street in front of the Loeb Drama Center.

“The idea that you vote to censure, it’s just not what you should be doing,” said Dershowitz, who said he had been walking through the neighborhood with his family and stumbled on the meeting.

While FAS represents the largest of Harvard’s nine schools, Summers has enjoyed greater support from other arms of the University.

“I continue to have great confidence in President Summers,” David T. Ellwood, dean of the Kennedy School of Government, wrote in an e-mail last night.

Nevertheless, the Faculty’s unprecedented vote yesterday dealt a major blow to the president.

Summers, who sat with a straight face throughout the meeting and did not touch the bottle of water in front of him, appeared resigned to the fact that much of his fate was out of his hands.

—Daniel J. Hemel, William C. Marra, and Sara E. Polsky contributed to the reporting of this story.

—Staff writer Zachary M. Seward can be reached at seward@fas.harvard.edu.