Though he has spent the last eight years as a public servant and policymaker, Lawrence H. Summers is a highly regarded academic and has the all-important Harvard connection--a prior affiliation with the University that helped to make him a more appealing candidate and gave him supporters

on the search committee. And with his extensive experience on the national

stage, colleagues have said that Summers is the man with the vision to use Harvard's bully pulpit to its full advantage.

The Teacher

For roughly a decade after completing his formal education, Summers taught undergraduate economics classes at Harvard, advised dissertation students and conducted research in areas involving both applied and theoretical economics. During that time, students and colleagues say, Summers left his mark on the careers of scores of young economists.

"There are almost no distinguished applied economists between the ages of

33 and 43 who didn't have Larry Summers as a mentor in some way," said Professor of Economics Lawrence F. Katz, who did graduate studies under

Summers.

Students who impressed Summers as undergraduates became his dissertation advisees, and many followed him to Washington.

Delong met Summers when a fellow economics student introduced him, and was Summers' first dissertation student and became a close friend.

When Summers went to the capital, Delong said, "I went along as a spear

carrier."

Summers' former chief of staff at the Treasury, Sheryl K. Sandberg '91, also met her future boss at Harvard: she wrote her thesis under his supervision.

One of Sandberg's predecessors at the Treasury, Sylvia M. Mathews '87,

said mentoring is one of Summers' greatest strengths, a valuable asset for

a presidential contender, especially at the College--an area of particular