Lawrence Summers

About Lawrence Summers

Lawrence Henry “Larry” Summers (born November 30, 1954) is an American economist. He is currently the Charles W. Eliot University Professor at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. He is the 1993 recipient of the John Bates Clark Medal for his work in macroeconomics and was Secretary of the Treasury for the last year and a half of the Bill Clinton administration. He also served as the 27th President of Harvard University from 2001 to 2006.

New York Magazine reports that Summers will probably succeed Henry Paulson as Secretary of the Treasury in 2009.

In three instances during his time as Harvard president, Summers made remarks that touched on political "hot-button" controversies. Environmentalists, affirmative action advocates, and many women and those concerned with women's issues took offense and brought increasing pressure on Harvard, contributing to his resignation. Summers also proposed reforming undergraduate education and requested that professors take greater responsibility in teaching their undergraduate classes, as opposed to delegating to teaching fellows. His resignation resulted in hundreds of millions in pledged contributions being canceled by donors; Summers was widely supported by Harvard college alumni, as well as students and faculty at Harvard University's professional schools (in particular Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School). Some viewed Summers' departure as an indicator that the humanities faculty at the College had power that was disproportionately large relative to their contributions to the University.