He asked the deans what "larger issues do they deal with on a day-to-day basis," Gray said.

Attendees said the discussion was "wide-ranging," and said Summers seemed to enjoy himself.

"[He] revealed a very serious, wide-ranging intelligence, [and was] willing to get into substantive discussions very quickly," said Paul S. Grogan, vice president for government, community and public affairs.

"There was good discussion," said Sally H. Zeckhauser, vice president for administration.

Outside of Loeb House, members of the Progressive Student Labor Movement protested the secrecy of the process to select Summers and expressed hope that he would support a living wage for Harvard employees, the second such demonstration in two days. A smaller group of students protested the official announcement of Summers' selection on Sunday.

Inside the meeting, though, Summers made a good impression on the assembled administrators.

"He conveyed a sense of how honored he his and how excited he is," Grogan said.