I heard Summers speak in my dining hall tonight, to a very warmly receptive crowd of 300 (disclaimer: pizza was provided). Students wore their "Viva Larry" shirts, five people painted their chests to spell out L-A-R-R-Y... it was a beautiful display of support on behalf of the students.
Even though I know the university will not somehow be erased from the face of the earth, President Summers' resignation and the subsequent Larry aftermath will, I think, have a few chilling effects that will harm the university.
1. Nobody's gonna want the gig. The faculty of arts and sciences has singlehandedly made sure that nobody of quality is going to consider the presidency of Harvard a good gig. Instead they made it clear that they are looking for a lapdog. Finding a visionary president who is willing to be excoriated by these doddering dons will be like looking for Harry Winston in a crackerjack box. Unless decisive action is taken, Harvard has for the near future doomed itself to substandard leadership.
2. A chilling effect on output and input. The faculty have further made it clear that certain ideas are unacceptable within the academy--which should NEVER be the case. As I've said here before, the academy is where good ideas rise to the top, and bad ideas are sunk by careful inquiry. I can't tell you how many people have contacted me, worried that signing the Students for Larry web petition will limit their chances of getting into graduate school, into a PhD program, or getting that Associate Professorship. And they're right-- FAS has shown itself to be vindictive and intolerant, and these students are right to fear that free expression will be looked on unfavorably. This rigidity will decrease the quality of intellectual output at Harvard, and unnecessarily restrict Harvard's ability to attract the best and the brightest.
3. A blow to academic freedom everywhere. The doddering dons of the socialist wing have made clear that they stand only for speech they agree with, and that that's an acceptable operating condition for the university. Harvard is a leading, model university-- but in this case, I'd hate for anyone to follow our lead lest we face a nationwide dimming of intellectual rigor, a nationwide unwillingness to ask the hard questions.
Not being one to cite problems only and offer no hope of solution, I offer this: Colin Powell for Harvard University President. Colin Powell, or someone like him. An unimpeachable leader who can manage a large organization efficiently, has moral courage in droves and can put the fear of God back into overly complacent members of the faculty where necessary and appropriate. He can put the flabby faculty through the paces, and though his age might prevent a particularly long term, I think in five or ten years he can whip them into shape so that the university is once more looking to the future. Or maybe Condolezza Rice. But honestly I'd rather she go for the Presidency that comes with a round room and a view of a rose garden....
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