Larry Summers, Former U.S. Treasury Secretary, Helps Launch Questrom School Institute at BU
BU Today — An overdue defense of capitalism—paired with a better understanding of what responsible businesses owe society—makes a new Boston University institute devoted to those causes essential, former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said at the institute’s formal launch.
The Questrom School of Business Ravi K. Mehrotra Institute for Business, Markets, & Society also strums a familial chord for Summers, whose mother pioneered the academic study of business and society interactions, he told an interviewer before the launch dinner audience on September 19 at BU’s Center for Computing & Data Sciences.
“My mother, who died at the age of 98 just a year ago, was a Wharton [School] professor,” Summers, a former president of Harvard, told Harvard Business Review senior editor Curt Nickisch (Questrom’13). “The thing she was most proud of was inaugurating business and public policy courses in the early ’80s,” in the belief that businesses needed to understand sentiments in the broader society. The goal of the Mehrotra Institute, Summers said, is “actually very personal for me.” READ MORE
Remarks from Morning Prayers 2024 at Harvard
Good morning.
Find yourself a teacher, win yourself a friend, and be one who judges everyone by giving them the benefit of the doubt.
These Talmudic words are part of a compendium called ‘Pirkei Avot,’ or ‘Sayings of the Fathers’ that are traditionally read on the Sabbath day. Today, on the first day of classes of the fall semester, you do not need to be a student to benefit from their insight.
Find yourself a teacher. Seek out people whose experiences, skills, and perspectives are different from your own, and whose knowledge and wisdom often exceed yours.
Win yourself a friend. Friendship is a reciprocal relationship. Not only must you find the friend, but you must earn the friendship by being a friend, offering companionship, empathy, concern, support and trustworthiness.
Be one who judges everyone by giving them the benefit of the doubt. We’re all too adept at recognizing the flaws of our antagonists and even of our friends. It’s tempting to interpret the actions of others in the worst possible light. It is better for all of us to do the opposite, consciously striving to judge others in the best possible light, in the words of Rabbi Irving Greenberg, shows our true respect for them. People who judge in this way will be better people themselves and will more likely evoke the best possible behavior from others.
How should we interpret these words at a tumultuous time like this one?
Yesterday, many of us attended a particularly beautiful convocation for the first year undergraduates. The enthusiasm and the optimism of the new students uplifted us all as we sensed the seemingly limitless possibilities ahead, and judging from the new students I met with, openness to hearing and benefiting from the diverse views of a diverse group of people.
Yet we also know that this fall is not likely to be calm, with memories of the spring still fresh. We expect that there will be debate and argument, there will be dissent and protest. There will no doubt, be hard feelings and hurt feelings among us, if you believe the headlines. And last month was awash in them. Those of us who are fortunate enough to be a part of universities have no choice but to brace ourselves.
What a bleak notion that is at an institution such as this one.
As a place to find a teacher and to win a friend, it is hard to imagine a better environment than ours. This is one of the world’s finest centers of learning and teaching with some of the world’s greatest scholars and researchers. With some of the world’s most challenging issues and most complex problems in our sights.
As a place to find your teacher and to win some friends, it is hard to imagine a better environment than ours. This is one of the world’s finest centers of learning and teaching with some of the world’s greatest scholars and researchers with some of the world’s most challenging issues and most complex problems in our sights. Here we are peering into the unknown, teetering on the verge of discovery, ushering in a new era of insight. Here we are pushing the limits of understanding, pursuing genuine excellence in every domain, and making ourselves, our university and the world better.
Here, we are blessed with resources beyond many of our wildest dreams. Laboratories laden with the most advanced equipment, libraries and museums brimming with collections that would take a lifetime and more to fully explore. Breathtaking architecture, beautiful landscapes, herbarium — notice plural — as well as an arboretum in Boston, a forest in Petersham, a garden in our nation’s capital, a villa in Florence, all of the many places on our campus and beyond, where we feel enlarged by association, all of the many things that make it possible for the people of Harvard to do their best work and to be their best selves.
Here we are blessed with both opportunity and community. Here we are together, and bracing ourselves is the best we can do? I don’t think so. I am a person who has faith in our capacity to listen attentively and generously, to treat one another with decency and respect, to recognize every day how special a place this is, and how much depth result, not of our physical resources, but of our relationships.
This is not a time to brace ourselves. This is a time to embrace one another. We can do so by always keeping these precepts in mind. Be one who judges everyone by giving them the benefit of the doubt. By reserving judgment, we make it possible for others to know that they are part of this community and that this community cares for them as much as you hope and expect it will. Disappointment in this regard is a crushing blow not to the will, but to the spirit, with belonging and the freedom and peace that it brings out of reach.
We cannot afford to build walls that separate us from one another. We cannot be quick to pass judgment. We must devote ourselves to knowing one another better, to seeing how things look from a perspective that differs from our own. We must try to bring day to day interactions the same commitment to inquiry and discovery that we bring to our intellectual pursuits. If and when tensions among us mount, I hope that we will approach each other, not only as fellow human beings, but as potential teachers and friends.
To do so, we must welcome humility and humanity into interactions with each other more readily than the sense of righteousness. I hope that we can grow in understanding, lifting each other up and urging each other on along the way. And I hope, most of all, that we can take the time to appreciate the fact that we have the chance to do all of these difficult things in the first place.
Here we are at an institution whose name has long been synonymous with excellence, with opportunities that few can equal. Here we are together at a university that belongs to each of us, as we find teachers and win friends. Let us be slow to judge and quick to renew our commitments to one another as we work to make the world a better place.
Thank you.
Remarks from 2024 Convocation, Harvard University
As prepared for delivery
Welcome, members of the Harvard College Class of 2028.
Welcome from every continent save Antarctica. Welcome from each state in the Union—and from DC, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.
Like me, fifty-seven of you hail from the Land of Lincoln. And two of you are named “Alan.”
A very special one of you was a summer Olympian. Thank you for making Harvard proud in Paris.
Your class is 1,650 strong. That number contains multitudes—countless ideas about what these next few years could hold for you—countless identities, ideologies, and interests—passions and pursuits.
The same is true of returning undergraduates, as well as graduate and professional students from across the University. Some of them are here today. They are of many minds about events unfolding in the wider world, and their diversity of perspective is part of what makes this among the richest learning environments you will ever encounter.
Being in this environment—in this community—means having rights and responsibilities.
Those gathered here have the right to express themselves freely—to dissent and protest. But they also have the responsibility to act with each of you—and the meaning of this occasion—in mind. We are convened to welcome you. Each of you should leave this gathering feeling acknowledged and accepted by our community.
What do we stand for at Harvard?
We stand for growing in knowledge and wisdom—not only through intellectual and extracurricular pursuits but through everyday interactions, through disagreement and argument, through conflict and reconciliation. You will learn at least as much from one another as you will from anyone else at Harvard—and you will learn more in difficult moments of tension than in easy moments of understanding. Be prepared to defend your point of view. Be prepared to articulate points of view that are different from your own. Be prepared, most of all, to change your mind.
We stand for seeking, supporting, and sustaining excellence from as broad, as diverse a pool of talent as possible. That is the beauty of the University. It attracts and supports interesting and ambitious individuals with different experiences and perspectives, individuals who challenge one another by virtue of being together in community. We acknowledge and celebrate that beauty—and the beauty of pluralism—with our willingness to encounter beliefs that are not our own, to be curious and respectful, to be genuinely attentive despite our tendency to be pulled in a million directions at once.
It should come as no surprise to you that this work cannot be done well on your phone. Think of how many assumptions you make when those three little bubbles let you know that someone is typing—and then how many more assumptions you make when those three little bubbles stop bubbling. Think of how much time you have devoted to unraveling those assumptions when you discover that you were down a rabbit hole of your own digging. There is no time for that now. Here you have no time to waste. Before the week is out, arrange to sit outside with a person you don’t know well, pick a place together in advance, and—this is essential—leave your phones in your rooms while you get to know each other. Fifteen minutes is enough time.
I think you will discover quickly the virtue of removing distraction. Send me an email and let me know who you meet, how it goes, and what you learn. My address is easy enough to remember: president@harvard.edu.
Learning to focus on another person, to listen sincerely and generously, to cultivate compassion and empathy: these are not indicators of intellectual prowess—they are qualities of humanity. You need both in equal measure if you hope to leave Harvard College having done what is expected of you. Open your mind, and your world will expand. Open your heart, and you’ll make lifelong friends.
I still keep in touch with people I met during my first week on campus. A lot has changed since I moved into Claverly Hall in 1973, but there is one characteristic of Harvard people that has always stood out to me—and stands the test of time.
We stand for excellence, embracing “both/and” rather than “either/or.”
What do I mean by that? Here, you will often encounter individuals who don’t accept the notion that they can do only one thing really well. You can be both a mathematician and a competitive cyclist, both a folklorist and a committed journalist, both an engineer and a graceful dancer. Combinations and permutations too numerous to mention often lead to improbable and stunning successes—and testaments to what can be accomplished in a single lifetime.
Everyone you will hear from this afternoon is here to help you realize your own take on “both/and.” We want your initial discomfort at encountering the vast landscape of opportunity before you to yield to wonder at the possibilities. We want you to feel supported in focusing on multiple interests and pursuing multiple goals. We want you to feel confident in following hunches and taking risks—and just as confident in changing course as you become more knowledgeable about who you are and what brings you joy and fulfillment.
Your time is precious. If you invest in people and situations that bring out the best in you, you will become a better version of yourself—and your years here will have been very well spent.
Speaking of your precious time, I will not use a minute more of it.
Welcome, members of the Class of 2028. I cannot wait to learn more about you—and what you learn about one another. I look forward to what you will accomplish as undergraduates both through your chosen work and in your daily dealings. Congratulations on your arrival—we are thrilled that you are here!
Strengthening America’s Economic Dynamism
Featuring Lawrence H. Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor and President Emeritus at Harvard University and former United States Secretary of the Treasury; and Robert B. Zoellick, Chair of Temasek Americas and former United States Trade Representative; in conversation with Melissa S. Kearney, director of the Aspen Economic Strategy Group. Americans are facing an era of economic reconfiguration driven by rising global tensions, technological change, and a populist backlash to the economic status quo. Leaders on both sides of the political aisle are increasingly turning away from free market principles and endorsing protectionist trade policies and government industrial policy. This shift threatens to end an era characterized by international economic cooperation and broad-based global growth. What does this mean for America’s economic dynamism? What steps should US policy and business leaders take to advance innovation, growth, and widespread economic prosperity? Presented as part of the Hurst Lecture Series.
Larry Summers Isn’t Second-Guessing the Government on Inflation
New York Times — Interest payments aren’t counted in the inflation rate. This is a fact that a lot of readers find confusing, if not angering, especially now, when rates are high on mortgages, auto loans and credit cards. I get lots of mail from people saying the absence of interest rates from the Consumer Price Index seems like sleight of hand by the government, the economics profession or both.
So I probably won’t win a lot of friends by saying that I think the way the government economists do things is correct. But when they’re right, they’re right. READ MORE
