In a now-famous September 2002 morning prayers address, Summers said that divestment—a drive urging Harvard to disinvest from holdings in Israel because of alleged human rights violations—and similar movements singling out Israel were “anti-Semitic in their effect if not their intent.” In that address, he expressed his concern from a very personal perspective, despite its strong impact on campus.

“I speak with you today not as president of the University but as a concerned member of our community,” he said.

Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, says Summers’ remarks stood out because despite his rhetoric, he was still a university president—the first such leader to address the divestment movement.

“It was unusual, because there seems to have been a reluctance around the university community for any condemnation of anti-Semitic behavior or behavior that would result in anti-Semitic impact,” Foxman says.

Summers’ remarks on divestment attracted attention in large part due to the criticism he drew, from faculty and a Crimson editorial, for stifling debate.

Nonetheless, Summers’ message reverberated far beyond the walls of Harvard Yard.

“It did focus attention on the subject to an extent it hadn’t been before—many more people found it outrageous,” Foxman says. “The fact that it was Harvard, the fact that it was the president, did at the end of the day focus the outside community’s attention on the issue.”

Even in Washington, when Summers talks, people listen.

The visa letter, for instance, landed Summers phone calls with Powell and Ridge.

Corporation member Robert D. Reischauer ’63 says Summers’ high profile and long-standing Washington relationships have benefited the University in allowing Summers better access to top government officials.

“That gives Harvard a much stronger voice on all sorts of matters,” says Reischauer, who directed the Congressional Budget Office from 1989 to 1995.

Barry Toiv, director of communications and public affairs for the Association of American Universities, says that while the leaders of most major universities would be heard by government officials, Summers’ preexisting relations are important.

“Of course it doesn’t hurt to be on a first name basis already with a lot of the people you might want to speak with,” he says.

Summers has remained prominent both because of who he is—Harvard’s president—and who he was—secretary of the Treasury. Both have drawn him considerable media attention.

“It’s difficult to tease out when he speaks and the press wants to talk to him on a follow-up whether it’s because of Harvard’s visibility or his or both combined,” says Vice President for Government, Community and Public Affairs Alan J. Stone. “Harvard in itself is a very special public relations case.”