Members of the Corporation, who have made few public comments since January, did not respond to phone messages yesterday. Summers, in a statement, made no mention of the reason behind Harper’s departure.

“Conrad Harper’s candid and insightful counsel on a wide range of important matters has strongly benefited the University,” Summers said. “I am grateful to him, both personally and on Harvard’s behalf, for his devoted service and for the many contributions he has made to the work of the Corporation.”

His statement reflected the University’s careful choice of words in the matter. A press release issued yesterday afternoon was delicately titled, “Harper concludes service on Harvard Corporation.”

Harper, who graduated from Harvard Law School in 1965, is a partner at the prominent New York law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. A former president of the New York City Bar Association, Harper served as the top legal advisor to the State Department from 1993 to 1996, while Summers was also in Washington at the Treasury.

The University said a joint committee of the Corporation and the Board of Overseers would begin searching for a new board member. With the departure of the only African-American member and with only one woman, Nannerl O. Keohane, currently serving on the board, the University may face pressure on campus to replace Harper with another minority or a woman.

—Staff writer Zachary M. Seward can be reached at seward@fas.harvard.edu.