Universities Weblog

For the first time in Harvard's long history, the faculty—of arts and sciences, that is—voted no confidence in its president. Larry Summers, following his well-publicized statements about gender and science aptitude, received that vote from 218 faculty members; 185 voted in his favor, while 18 abstained.

In a similar motion, 253 out of 468 (again, with 18 abstentions) voted to censure the president for his remarks.

This bit comes from the Chronicle of Higher Education's coverage:

"It was quite dramatic," said Mary Waters, chair of the sociology department, who voted for both measures but was surprised at the success of the no-confidence vote, which was not expected to pass. "There was an audible gasp when the numbers were announced."Many students objected. One group, calling itself "Harvard Students for Larry," issued the following statement: "This demonstrates a complete rejection of the major tenets of academic freedom and wholesale disregard for the opinion of the student body they instruct."

According to the Chronicle, Summers isn't likely to lose his job over this. Only the Harvard Corporation can hire and fire the president. What's more, college and university presidents often survive faculty votes of no confidence, so such action doesn't always sound a death knell. And keep in mind that Summers' former Treasury Department boss, Robert Rubin, sits on the corporation, which means, in theory, that he has at least one Ally.

So Larry isn't terribly popular, but his job is safe. For now.

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