The Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) voted by secret ballot on Tuesday, March 15th to approve a motion that they lack confidence in the leadership of University President Lawrence H. Summers. Two hundred eighteen faculty members voted for, 185 voted against, and 18 abstained from the motion.
The non-binding motion, a first in Harvard’s history, is for the most part a symbolic gesture-only the Harvard Corporation, the University’s top governing body, can force Summers to step down. The motion was initiated by Professor of Anthropology and of African and African American Studies J. Lorand Matory in response to Summers’ adversarial leadership style and his controversial remarks made a short while ago on women in science.
As the uproar surrounding Harvard President Summers’ remarks regarding women in science persists, many are concerned as to what affect this will have on the ability of the University to recruit top female academics. In response, the Harbus asked a group of HBS students the following question:
Do you think that President Summers’ remarks will have a negative effect on the ability of the business school to recruit top female business admissions prospects to the MBA program?
Yes: 19.9%
No: 80.1%
Number of Respondents: 276
