Summers will no doubt find that dealing with a large, powerful, fiercely independent group of faculties will be reminiscent of struggling with the power barons of Congress during his time at the U.S. Treasury. And a Harvard president certainly has fewer constitutional powers than his former boss Bill Clinton. But the Harvard president has a bully pulpit second to none in the world of higher education, and here, too, where Summers will need to make his mark. Some of the tasks are crucial but relatively straightforward--explaining to the American people the critical importance of funding higher education as well as the arts and sciences generally. But some of the "bully pulpit" tasks are really new, and Summers is well placed to make an enormous difference.

In the domestic scene, Summers can work with heads of other universities to help sort out the critical issues of business-university relations and the underlying ethical issues involved. Beyond the U.S., Summers will recognize that for the developing world, improved higher education is not just a luxury, but now life or death for these societies. For decades the rich world told the poor world to focus on primary education, even to the neglect of higher education. But this won't do in today's "knowledge economy," where higher education is essential for effective leadership and for technological advance. Harvard should help to lead a worldwide revolution in higher education, to ensure not just our own quality of education, but to help Africa, Asia and Latin America to foster world-class institutions to help build their own societies. It can do this through advocacy, through wise use of donor funding for international projects and by fostering far more active networks of international scholarship.

I've been lucky to know Larry Summers for 25 years, from late-nighters in grad school through appointments together on the faculty through work together (and occasionally in friendly jousting) on international economics. He has the breadth of view and the experience to help lead Harvard into new ways of teaching, research, and involvement with the world. We all wish him well and should offer our strong support for those efforts.

Stone Professor of International Trade Jeffrey D. Sachs '76 is the director of the Center for International Development.