"Larry brought together a set of skills that were timely and right for Harvard for the next few years," one committee member said.

Around noon, the committee made its final decision. Gagnon and the two other Overseers stood and left: their job was done. Gagnon headed to the Coop to buy a Harvard sweatshirt. Oldenburg and Everhart went to check out of their hotels, leaving the Corporation alone for their regularly scheduled afternoon meeting.

And, around 1 p.m., President Neil L. Rudenstine—the seventh member of the Corporation—arrived for the afternoon's meeting, bringing along Fineberg in his role as provost. Throughout the next two hours, the Corporation functioned normally. No one mentioned to Fineberg that a decision had been made.

The committee left Stone to contact Summers early that week and extend “the committee's desire to see him serve,” as the Senior Fellow later phrased it. Stone called Summers, and then flew to Washington to make the offer again in person. For the next week, the committee waited anxiously for Summers' decision.

"It's the type of decision you don't make overnight," explained a committee member. “It's a life decision. We thought he would be interested, but we didn't have 100 percent confidence.”

Summers told them he was in.

On March 6, members of the Board of Overseers received urgent FedEx packages, asking them to clear their schedules for an emergency meeting on March 11 to approve the committee's selection.