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.

Eighteen of the 30 Overseers arrived on the 64th floor of Rockefeller Center in Manhattan that sunny Sunday morning. Others participated by conference call. Summers and the committee were waiting for them.

Overseers present at the meeting said committee members individually explained their reasons for selecting Summers—highlighting his intelligence, vision and focus on undergraduates. Afterwards, Summers himself discussed the importance of Harvard’s mission, describing it as a catalyst for new ideas.

Overseer C. Dixon Spangler Jr., who was present at the meeting, described Summers’ presentation as “well thought-out.”

Summers and members of the Harvard Corporation then left the room, allowing the Overseers to conduct a private vote.

The vote was unanimous—18 yeas, zero nays.

“The Fellows recommended, and we discussed, considered and approved that choice,” Spangler said.