“I have had...very good conversations with him,” Appiah said. “In one conversation, he made it plain that he was very much hoping that I wouldn’t go. He hasn’t done anything to push me out—if that’s what you’ve heard, it’s not true.”

Appiah also said that while he did visit Princeton recently, he did not visit with West, and that the visit was not for the purpose of discussing a possible move.

“I had dinner with the provost of Princeton [Amy Gutmann] who is a good friend of mine, and I wrote a book with her, so that’s not too surprising,” Appiah said.

The national media spotlight focused on the tension between Summers and the Afro-American Studies department drew the Rev. Jesse Jackson to Cambridge Tuesday. Jackson held a press conference at St. Paul’s A.M.E Church in which he expressed his concern over what he said was Summers’ inadequate support for affirmative action.

But Jackson praised today’s statement.

“That certainly is a positive statement, and it is hopeful because...[Summers] is building bridges where there has been some fracture,” Jackson said in an interview with The Crimson.

But Jackson said he would also like to see Summers meet with West to personally smooth over the tensions between the two men, and he would like to see Summers meet with department head and DuBois Professor of the Humanities Henry Louis “Skip” Gates Jr. to further discuss the issue of “academic freedom and freedom of association.”

Jackson also called for Harvard to host a national conference on its campus on affirmative action and issues related to diversity in education.

“Harvard must be a beacon of light for the nation, not a shadow of doubt,” Jackson said in an interview with The Crimson following Tuesday’s press conference.

—Juliet J. Chung, Lauren R. Dorgan and David H. Gellis contributed to the reporting of this article.

—Staff writer Kate L. Rakoczy can be reached at rakoczy@fas.harvard.edu.

The entire text of Summers' statement:

To the Harvard Crimson:

A number of questions have been asked in recent days about the University's position and my own views on diversity. I thought a brief statement might be helpful in this regard.

I take pride in Harvard's longstanding commitment to diversity. I believe it is essential for us to maintain that commitment, working to create an ever more open and inclusive environment that draws on the widest possible range of talents.