Laurel Thatcher Ulrich: Leading fight against Summers at Harvard

Harvard historian, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, appears headed to the center of Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Science's challenge to President Lawrence Summers. Its elected governing body asked her to take the lead in developing a process for choosing a new dean to succeed William C. Kirby. Last year, the FAS voted no confidence in Summers and it has scheduled an additional no confidence vote for next Wednesday. But in a move that could be more threatening than the votes of no confidence, the FAS governing body recommends that the search committee consider excluding Summers from participating in the search or halting the search so long as Summers remains in office. Meanwhile, in an interview with the Boston Globe, the former dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Peter T. Ellison, said that"he would not recommend to any colleague that they consider serving as a dean under Summers."
NB: A note from Harvard suggests that Crimson headlines may be misleading.