© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Failure to Court Faculty Dooms Harvard President

RENEE MONTAGNE, Host:

As NPR's Claudio Sanchez reports, not everyone is cut out to run a major university; especially a high-profile campus like Harvard.

CLAUDIO SANCHEZ: Lawrence Summers was the first president in Harvard's 370-year history to receive a vote of no-confidence from his faculty. He was headed for a second vote of no-confidence before deciding to step down.

LAWRENCE SUMMERS: My hope is that history will judge my presidency not on the moments of rancor, but on the things we've been able to do together.

SANCHEZ: In a hastily arranged conference call, Harvard's governing board accepted Summers' resignation with, what it called, great regret. Although no one should be surprised, says Jack Maguire, a well-known consultant in higher education.

JACK MAGUIRE: The signs were all there. My sense was that the resignation was inevitable.

SANCHEZ: Maguire says Summers and Harvard were simply not a good fit. What makes for a good fit? That was one of the questions Maguire explored in a survey of 764 college presidents and chancellors for the Chronicle of Higher Education a few months ago. The three key things most often cited as crucial and necessary in leading an institution?

MAGUIRE: First, leadership, which is, of course, hard to define. But then the other two were interpersonal relations, and a connection with the mission, and an understanding of the culture of the institution.

SANCHEZ: Although, some say it's not fair to blame Summers entirely. John DiBiaggio has been in the hot-seat himself, as President at the University of Connecticut, Tufts University, and Michigan State.

JOHN DIBIAGGIO: Well, I think, you know, the presidency of Harvard is a difficult task, there's no question about it. The colleges operate quite independently, and have done so for some time.

SANCHEZ: Summers, for example, would often say that the Harvard faculty as a whole had gotten old and complacent. Well that was unlikely to endear him to those who felt they were being pushed out, says DiBiaggio.

DIBIAGGIO: Presidents can be change agents, and many have been. But often, when that's the case, you know, their tenures are not long, because universities don't like to change dramatically. They're very traditional places. Some would even say that they're rigid.

SANCHEZ: At his news conference, Summers was asked what advice he would give the next President of Harvard. He said the next President would be well advised to think carefully about the broad range of views and interest groups on campus, and about the people that make up Harvard. People that he conceded he did not connect with very well.

SUMMERS: There were certainly moments when I could have challenged the community more respectfully, and those, too, are lessons to be learned.

SANCHEZ: Claudio Sanchez, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Related Content