Summers said his Washington friends coordinated with his Harvard friends to decorate the main office before Summers began work. He was pleasantly surprised to arrive and find photos of his children lining the bookcases.

He attended meetings in the morning, talked with various deans and members of the Corporation by telephone and lunched at the Faculty Club, catching up, he said, with old friends and new friends.

Minuto Family Drops Admission Case

In a surprise filing July 31, lawyers agreed to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Tulane student Marco G. “Mike” Minuto alleging that Harvard College had reneged on a promise of admission made by football coach Tim Murphy.

The filing, signed by both Minuto family lawyer Joseph F. Hardcastle and Harvard attorney Robert W. Iuliano, said that the dismissal came “with prejudice”—meaning that the matter cannot be raised again—and both sides agreed to pay for their own costs in the case.

“This case is over,” Hardcastle said.

The lawsuit, filed in early July, asked the court to order Harvard to admit Minuto this fall as a member of the Class of 2004. The suit charged that Murphy offered Minuto admission before Harvard “reconsidered” and denied him a place.