(In case anyone missed this in the New York Times!)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 15 - The Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard
approved a resolution on Tuesday expressing a lack of confidence in the
leadership of the university's president, Lawrence H. Summers, citing
longstanding dissatisfaction with his management style and, to a lesser
extent, his remarks in January about women in math and science.

The vote was 218 in favor and 185 opposed, with 18 abstentions.

At an intense and sober meeting, Dr. Summers's supporters accused his
opponents of political correctness while his critics emphasized that their
concerns had nothing to do with political correctness but about Dr.
Summers's leadership, as well as his remarks concerning a lack of women in
science.

Passage of the resolution was largely symbolic because only the Harvard
Corporation, the body that governs the university, has the authority to
dismiss the university's president.

The corporation reaffirmed its support for Dr. Summers in a statement
released after the meeting by James R. Houghton, senior fellow of the
corporation. "The members of the Corporation fully support President Summers
in his ongoing efforts to listen thoughtfully to the range of views being
expressed by members of the university's faculties, and to work collegially
and constructively with them to address the important academic matters
facing Harvard," Mr. Houghton said in the statement.

The vote of no confidence, believed to be the first in Harvard's history,
was a blow for Dr. Summers, who has been trying for weeks to repair
relations with his faculty.

Dr. Summers spoke only briefly and at the end of the meeting on Tuesday. At
a statement released after the meeting, Dr. Summers said he had done his
best "to hear all that has been said, to think hard, to learn and to
adjust."

"I will continue to do that," he added. "I am committed to doing all I can
to restore the sense of trust that is critical to our work together, and to
re-engage our collective attention with the vital academic issues before
us."

The vote was taken by secret ballot, and when the results were announced,
about halfway through the meeting, "people gasped," according to Prof. Mary
C. Waters, chairwoman of the sociology department.

"Everyone was in shock," said Professor Waters, who said she voted for the
no-confidence resolution. "People did not expect it." At that moment,
Professor Waters added, "I felt sorry for Larry."

But others took a harder line. J. Lorand Matory, a professor of anthropology
and African and African-American studies, told reporters after the meeting
that Dr. Summers should step down. "There is no noble alternative for him
but resignation," said Professor Matory, who introduced the resolution.

As a possible compromise, some members of the faculty had put forth a second
resolution that expressed regret at Dr. Summers's management style and his
remarks about women. But the faculty passed the harsher no-confidence
resolution first. It then approved the second measure, with a larger
majority, 253 to 137.

"This is not even about just style anymore," said Professor Waters, who has
criticized Dr. Summers for what she describes as a pattern of intimidating
faculty members and squelching debate. "There is widespread dissatisfaction
with his substantive decisions as well as style," she said.

Dr. Summers, an economist and a former United States Treasury secretary, has
been meeting individually with faculty members throughout the Faculty of
Arts and Sciences over the last several weeks, apologizing for his remarks
about women and for any other offense he might have given and asking for
their support so he could move forward.

Now in his fourth year as president, Dr. Summers has ambitious plans to
expand the campus to Allston, across the Charles River; to reinvigorate the
undergraduate curriculum; and to put a new emphasis on big science.

Claudia Goldin, an economics professor who is a strong supporter of Dr.
Summers, said she was disappointed by the vote but added that it represented
a "bare majority of those who were there" among the 600 or so voting members
of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

"I still think he's taking the university in the right direction," Professor
Goldin said. "There are clearly people who don't like the direction for one
reason or another. Some feel threatened."


David Ward, president of the American Council on Education, a nonprofit
advocacy group of college presidents and chancellors, expressed astonishment
at the vote of no confidence.

"It is such an unprecedented event that it's very hard to anticipate the
immediate consequences," said Mr. Ward, former chancellor of the University
of Wisconsin at Madison. "It indicates perhaps a level of seriousness that I
had not anticipated. I knew there was a problem. I thought people would have
a little more patience to see if this could be worked out."

Mr. Ward said he could not answer the question of whether Dr. Summers could
continue to govern effectively. "That really depends on how he feels about
the vote and the degree to which other parts of the university share the
feelings that are expressed at this time," he said.

Professor Waters and other professors have said in recent weeks that they
had been concerned about Dr. Summers's leadership for some time and that his
remarks in January suggesting that "intrinsic aptitude" might be one
explanation for women's lack of success in science had brought their
concerns to the surface.

Despite differences of opinion over Dr. Summers's leadership, faculty
members took pains to talk with one another after the meeting in a
demonstration of collegiality, she said.