At the same time though, delegation of the Allston coordination to the provost would be an increase in responsibility.

“There would be a certain amount of resistance to that, that would be a big step,” Monell says. “I would guess that [Summers] wouldn’t put a provost into the middle of that.”

‘Thankless Task’

Even with the opportunity for expansion of the provost’s role, Summers might have hard luck trying to convince faculty members to serve.

A number of senior faculty members said that the position is unattractive, regardless of how Summers defines it. They cited their already heavy workloads of research and teaching and frustration with administration as reasons they would not not want to serve as a provost.

Other professors added that the position might not be attractive enough to lure those already in powerful posts away from their current positions.

“It’s a thankless task,” says Mason Professor of Music Christoph J. Wolff.

—Staff Writer David H. Gellis can be reached at gellis@fas.harvard.edu.