The Ivy League welcomed two new presidents over the weekend, with Harvard and Brown universities both inducting fresh leaders.
And in a major move for the Ancient Eight, Brown inaugurated an African-American woman as its president -- making her the first African-American leader in the Ivy League.
On Friday afternoon, Harvard University inaugurated former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers as its 27th president. Forty-eight hours later, Ruth Simmons, the former head of Smith College, was officially inducted as Brown University's 18th president.
University President Judith Rodin stressed the important role of college presidents and said she was glad to gain two illustrious new colleagues.
"I think that great presidents have enormous impacts on their schools and both of these individuals have the potential to be great presidents," Rodin said. Simmons and Summers "have shown leadership capacity in the past, and we have every reason to expect that they'll continue on that course of significant leadership as they go forward."
Rodin, the first female president of an Ivy League school, attended and spoke at Simmons' ceremony on Sunday afternoon. Pleased to be welcoming in a third female Ivy leader, Rodin offered her "sister president" a warm welcome.
As president of Brown, Simmons replaces Gordon Gee, who stepped down in 2000 to become the chancellor at Vanderbilt University.
Provost Robert Barchi represented Penn at Summers' inauguration on Friday afternoon.
Summers takes the place of Neil Rudenstine, who led Harvard for a decade. Prior to his appointment as president, Summers served as treasury secretary in the Clinton administration.
In their inaugural speeches, the two new presidents both emphasized the need to maintain high educational standards both in the Ivy League and in the general realm of higher education.
"Whether in the classroom or the common room, the library or the laboratory, we will assure more of what lies at the heart of the educational experience -- direct contact between teacher and student," Summers said.
Simmons' speech echoed similar sentiments, as she tied her own educational experiences to her perceptions of teaching and learning.
"The essence of life itself is intellectual growth that continues throughout life," she said. "What matters is learning itself. We laud teaching, but we are loath to applaud teaching."
In addition to stressing the importance of education, both Summers and Simmons outlined other goals they want to achieve.
Most notably, Summers mentioned his desire to see Harvard extend its campus beyond Cambridge, Mass.
"If we make the right choices -- if we take full advantage of a physical opportunity across the river in Allston -- we will have earned the gratitude of future generations," he said.
Looking to the future, Summers expressed the need for Harvard to become a global university.
"We will, in the years ahead, need to think very carefully about technology, about globalization, and how we can enable us to contribute as much, to as many as possible," he said.
Simmons' objectives, on the other hand, were aimed at expanding Brown's student basis beyond typical groups of high-achieving students. She suggested turning to those who excel in community colleges to accomplish this goal.
Among the student bodies at both Harvard and Brown, Summers and Simmons received a large amount of praise.
Harvard senior and Undergraduate Council President Paul Gusmorino offered words of motivation to Summers at Friday's ceremony.
"We students have the greatest faith in your wisdom and your leadership," he said.
