Harvard lore holds that it never rains on Commencement. The same, it seems, is true for presidential installations.

After a week of bitter cold, sunny skies and unseasonably warm temperatures prevailed on Friday for the installation of Harvard’s 27th president, Lawrence Henry Summers.

The inauguration, a formal beginning for Summers, featured an elaborate ceremony with ancient Harvard symbols, as well as speeches from the University’s biggest movers and shakers—and the most definitive statement of policy yet from the president himself (see related story).

The installation ceremony was the capstone to two days of festivities, including student performances, faculty symposia and a reception. More than 5,000 people came to Tercentenary Theatre for the day of pomp and circumstance.

Preparing For Pomp

Early in the afternoon, administrators, faculty members and others in the academic procession donned their traditional regalia and assembled in front of Boylston Hall.

As he stood by the “Corporation” sign, Harvard Corporation member James R. Houghton ’58 pointed to the clear blue sky and described the day as a “typical Harvard” affair. “This is a great day—for a great new president,” he said.

Plummer Professor of Christian Morals Peter J. Gomes noted the particularly festive atmosphere. “There’s a very good mood in the air,” he said. “People are up.”

As the faculty began to congregate, Neil L. Rudenstine, Harvard’s 26th president, mingled among them, shaking hands and sharing updates of his new life in New York City.

“It’s terrific to be back,” he said. “It’s a great launch [for Summers].”

One hundred seventy delegates representing national and international universities lined up beside Widener Library.

For Stanford University’s representative, Kenneth J. Arrow, the event was more than a milestone for higher education. Arrow, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, is Summers’ uncle.

As he waited for the procession to begin, Arrow reflected on his nephew’s meteoric rise.

“I would never have expected Larry to do this,” he said. “I thought of him as a scholar, a scholar with a bent for organization.”

Nearby, a slightly “anxious” Paul A. Gusmorino ’02, the Undergraduate Council president, said he was glad to be the first student to give a speech at a Harvard presidential installation.