Lawrence H. Summers will be the 27th president of Harvard University.
The presidential search committee announced Summers' appointment on campus yesterday, just hours after the Board of Overseers confirmed his appointment in a hastily arranged New York meeting.
"It's good to be home. I accept," Summers said after search committee chair Robert G. Stone Jr. '45 introduced Summers to the crowd at a Loeb House press conference.
"We enthusiastically welcome him back to Harvard," Stone told the packed ballroom. "He is a person of extraordinary academic distinction, with a deeply rooted understanding of the University and its purposes, as well as extensive leadership experience on the national and international scene."
A grinning Summers then approached the podium as a wave of applause swept through the room.
Wearing a navy suit, white shirt and a crimson tie, Summers spoke for about 10 minutes before taking questions from reporters.
"It is with a feeling of excitement and exhilaration that I undertake the responsibility the Corporation has entrusted to me," Summers said in his opening remarks. "The opportunity for this university probably never has been greater."
Outside the ballroom, under the watchful eye of Harvard University police officers, almost 30 members of the Progressive Student Labor Movement demonstrated, protesting the secrecy of the presidential search process and demanding that Summers institute a living wage for Harvard workers.
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