Many hope Harvard leader's apology doesn't stifle debate

BOSTON — Lawrence Summers' bluntness earned him enemies and admirers in several top Treasury Department jobs and now as president of Harvard University.

He has rarely been one to apologize for his directness — until this week. Summers spent much of the past few days saying sorry after a tumult over comments he made at a conference on women in science that he thought were off the record. In those comments, he suggested innate differences might make women less capable than men of succeeding at math and science.

Summers insisted his remarks about possible biological differences in scientific ability have been misrepresented, that he wasn't endorsing a position, just stating there is research that suggests such a difference may exist. But his words have sparked wide debate on Harvard's campus and a string of angry calls and e-mails.

In a letter to the Harvard community posted late Wednesday on the university Web site, Summers wrote: "I deeply regret the impact of my comments and apologize for not having weighed them more carefully."

In what was his third statement of contrition since the conference last Friday, he added, "I was wrong to have spoken in a way that was an unintended signal of discouragement to talented girls and women."

Summers, an economist by training, said in a telephone interview that he hopes he'll be able to participate in academic discussions in the future. "But particularly on sensitive topics, I will speak in much less spontaneous ways and in ways that are much more mindful of my position as president," he said.

Some academics think that's too bad. They say it's important for college presidents to be engaged in debating important issues and worry that this episode will discourage them.

"It's rare that a university president comes and offers provocative ideas," said Richard Freeman, an economist at Harvard and the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the Cambridge research institute that hosted the conference where Summers spoke. "All too often in universities somebody comes and it's like cutting a ribbon, and they mouth some platitudes."

Freeman and several other participants at last Friday's conference said Summers has been portrayed unfairly. They said he was simply outlining possible reasons women aren't filling as many top science jobs as men.

"He didn't say anything that people in that room didn't have in their own minds," said Claudia Goldin, another Harvard and NBER economist. Goldin said Summers simply summarized research from papers presented at the conference.

"We need to be drawing on all of the talent of our population," said University of Washington engineering-school dean Denise Denton, who confronted Summers about his comments. "The notion that half the population may not be up to the task, even remotely getting that idea out there, especially from the leader of a major university in the United States, that's of concern."

Summers has declined to elaborate on his address, in which he also contended, according to published reports, that women might be less inclined to advance to top levels in science because they are unwilling to work long, grueling hours once they have children.

Women make up a majority of U.S. undergraduates, but they have lagged in ascending to top university science jobs. The debate over why this is so was renewed at Harvard this year after only a few female scientists were put forward for tenure. Summers said bringing more women into the sciences is a top priority.

But Massachusetts of Technology biologist Nancy Hopkins, who walked out of Summers' talk, said the president was setting an unacceptable tone for Harvard.

"[We can't] start to say to young people, 'From the day you get to Harvard University, your chances of making it to the top aren't very good, because you're a woman,' " said Hopkins, a Harvard alumna.

Material from the Los Angeles Times is included in this report.