Larry Summers, Our Economics Tutor

To the editors:

We are women from the Harvard College Class of 1980. We first met University President Lawrence H. Summers when we were undergraduates, and he was a graduate student and resident economics tutor in Lowell House.

Havard could be a somewhat daunting place for many students, and particularly for women, in those days. Our class was 60 percent men, it was not especially diverse, and there was a larger contingent of legatees than there is today. There were also far fewer female professors, teaching fellows, and graduate students.

Larry was for some of us an Economics 10 section leader, for others an informal economics tutor, and a friend and advisor to each of us. He offered all of us help and encouragement in our ability to perform at the highest levels in our academic work. He took our comments and arguments seriously and treated each of us with the greatest respect. He fostered in us an appreciation for logical thought, intellectual honesty, and scientific rigor in analyzing issues. Perhaps most importantly, he urged us to have confidence in our abilities. He never made the slightest distinction between us and our male peers.

In addition, Larry has been a friend to us throughout our subsequent careers, often providing support, encouragement, and wise counsel.

As our 25th reunion approaches this June, when we look back on our careers we all feel extraordinarily fortunate to have had the benefit of Larry’s encouragement and mentoring during our college years. We wish to state, on the record, our appreciation for Larry’s help in developing our analytical skills and in strengthening our resolve to achieve at the highest levels in our professional lives.

NICOLE SINEK ARNABOLDI ’80

New York, N.Y.

LINDA BILMES ’80

Cambridge, Mass.

SHARMINI COOREY ’80

Washington, D.C.

CATHERINE HODGMAN HELM ’80

Los Angeles, Calif.

NANCY ROSE ’80

Cambridge, Mass.

CYNTHIA TORRES ’80

Santa Monica, Calif.

February 15, 2005