“[Lewis is] very like Larry,” the professor says. “So it’s curious they didn’t always see eye to eye.”

The professor now says that perhaps the two are too confident in their opinions to compromise as colleagues.

“When you’re that analytical, you’re clear about what’s right,” the professor says.

Moreover, Summers and Lewis rarely agreed on what was right in matters of College policy.

Several University Hall officials say Lewis and Summers butted heads on preregistration, study abroad policies, last year’s Senior English Address by Zayed M. Yasin ’02 at Commencement and the role of extracurricular activities at the College.

Two University Hall officials say Summers called the College “Camp Harvard” at a reception for tutors, although Summers says he does not remember using the moniker.

Summers does say he has called House tutors “camp counselors.”

The officials say the comparison reflects Summers’ belief that extracurriculars play too prominent of a role in undergraduate life.

On the other hand, Lewis—an avid fan of Harvard sports teams and a close collaborator with student group leaders—has been a staunch defender of the importance of extracurriculars in undergraduate life.

Summers, with some Faculty members, pushed for more study abroad opportunities to count for academic credit.

But Lewis, who has been at Harvard for most of his life, said he did not feel study abroad should replace time undergraduates spend at the College.

Enough students go abroad during the summer and after graduation without getting academic credit, Lewis argued in his January 7, 2003 response to Report of the Committee to Visit the College 2002.

Lewis also took issue with the way Summers handled Yasin’s address at last year’s Commencement.

The address, originally entitled “American Jihad,” sparked the anger of many students who saw the title as unnecessarily controversial and offensive, especially after the attacks of Sept. 11.

“Direct personal threats are reprehensible and all of us who believe in the values of this University should condemn them in the strongest terms,” Summers said in a written statement after learning that Yasin was threatened. He also encouraged people to “keep open minds” in a university setting.