Alan J. Stone, Harvard’s vice president for government, community and public affairs, said that as of last night, he was not aware of the English department’s decision, and that Summers had no comment.

Professor of Psychology Patrick Cavanagh, who signed the Harvard-MIT divestment petition and criticized Summers for exerting what he said was inappropriate pressure on members of the English department to cancel Paulin’s visit, called the renewal of the invitation “a positive move.”

“I’m happy that the English department has really decided on its own,” he said.

According to a colleague of Paulin, the poet is likely to accept the reinvitation.

James Shapiro, a professor of English at Columbia University who said he is a colleague and friend of Paulin, returned a telephone message left for Paulin at Columbia’s English Department.

“I’m sure he’ll accept,” Shapiro said. “It’s not just Tom Paulin that’s relieved about this—it’s a lot of other people relieved about this.”

Some faculty members stressed the fact that yesterday’s meeting was the first by the entire English department.

“There had been no meeting of the English department, on this issue, before this one,” Graham said. “This was the first meeting the English department had a chance to convene on this matter.”

Buell said the decision to renew the invitation took place without consultation with Paulin, and “in no sense endorses the extreme statements by Mr. Paulin that occasioned last week’s protests against the invitation.”

Paulin has repeatedly said he is not anti-Semitic, and that he wishes for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the Middle East.

Harvard’s about-face may also have implications for other schools.

The University of Vermont originally scheduled a talk by Paulin on its campus for today, but canceled it some time after the lecture at Harvard was canceled, according to a receptionist for the University of Vermont’s English department.

No faculty members from the department or administrators from the school were available for comment yesterday afternoon.

—Alexandra N. Atiya contributed to the reporting of this story.

—Staff writer Alexander J. Blenkinsopp can be reached at blenkins@fas.harvard.edu.