Ryan, who said the measure was discussed at yesterday’s meeting, called it “definitely a step in the right direction.”

“Although the divisional deans have already been working on this topic, they have now started to codify it and make practical suggestions on it,” she said.

The council will reconsider the issue soon, one council member said.

“There was no clear sense of where to go from here except departments have to be more diligent,” the council member said. “The dean took it quite seriously.”

Ryan said although Summers was correct in asserting that appointments originate from departments, it is difficult to determine where the issue of declining female tenure appointments arises.

The council also discussed a number of other topics yesterday, including the curricular review and the new systems biology initiative, Ryan said.

—Rebecca D. O’Brien contributed to the reporting of this story. —Staff writer Stephen M. Marks can be reached at marks@fas.harvard.edu.