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Former Harvard President to Share Insights into the Global Economy
Ioana Patringenaru | April 2, 2007
Before he made some remarks about women’s intrinsic
aptitude for science and engineering and later stepped
down as president of Harvard University, Lawrence
H. Summers was the principal economic advisor to President
Clinton and the chief financial officer of the U.S.
government presiding over a civilian workforce of
nearly 150,000 employees.
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| Lawrence H. Summers |
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Summers will share his insights into the United States and the global economy on April 30 at UCSD as part of the UCSD Economics Roundtable. The event features influential speakers who have made an impact on economic thinking and economic issues, said UCSD Professor and roundtable host James Hamilton. Summers is prominent in both these areas, he added.
“He has been at the forefront of every issue he’s ever touched,” said Hamilton.
As a Treasury official, Summers played a key role in the Clinton’s administration policy of open trade with China. He also helped the economy flourish during the Clinton years, Hamilton said.
Summers was awarded his doctoral degree from Harvard
in 1982. In 1983, he was one of the youngest professors
to receive tenure. In 1991, he took leave from Harvard
to become chief economist at the World Bank, where
his research included an influential report demonstrating
that investing in education for girls in developing
countries yielded very high returns. Summers went
on to serve in the Clinton administration, then returned
to Harvard.
He probably won’t talk about his five-year stint as the university’s president in his speech, Hamilton said. But the topic might surface during the roundtable’s Q&A session. Summers’ tenure was marked by conflicts with the university’s Arts and Sciences faculty, which culminated in a no-confidence vote. The threat of another vote triggered Summers’ resignation in February 2006. |
