What Happened?
Clearly the depth of anti-Summers feeling was stronger than most observers realized. The fact that only a handful of professors publicly gave voice to that feeling may have created the impression that those who shared the sentiment were a minority of the faculty.
Personally, I'm not surprised by the fact that so many professors lack confidence in Summers. It's consistent with what I heard while reporting on Summers' presidency, and it's reflected in
Harvard Rules. It was always clear to me that those who supported Summers' presidency were a minority of the faculty—and truth be told, a smaller minority than those who voted in support of him yesterday. You have to think that a number of those pro-Summers votes were actually votes against the inevitable division that the no-confidence vote would create, rather than explicit displays of support for the president.
But I am surprised that the faculty passed the vote of no-confidence. It's such a dramatic step! If I had had to bet, I would have guessed that, having crept up to the brink of no-confidence, the faculty would pull back. The power of the secret ballot box—it's an amazing thing.
