“In academic settings the chief of staff is not a gate keeper. It’s the nature of Harvard that there are just far too many avenues of collaboration, and Larry’s style is to consult as many people as possible,” O’Neill said.

Indeed, Summers consulted widely this week, meeting with officials and staffers in the provost and vice-presidents’ offices, Mass. Hall employees and other senior staff members.

He has also begun to visit with lower-level administrators and faculty as the latest installment of what one friend called a “Hillary Clinton-esque listening tour.”

Summers also spent a portion of his first week wading through the materials pertaining to the searches for two vacant high level positions, provost and vice president for government, community, and public affairs—both of which were vacated the day before Summers arrived.

Summers has discussed the provost position with a range of observers, and considers finding the right person for the job a top priority. Some maintained that Summers isn’t going to be rushed, but others were led to expect a new Provost by the end of the summer.

In the search for the vice-president Summers’ circle of consultation has stretched beyond Harvard’s walls to the world of Washington Summers inhabited for the last decade.

Candidates visited Mass. Hall for conversations this week. Resume materials of candidates for the job fill two three-ring binders.