posted July 13, 2006 12:13 PM            

The resignation of Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers has led three more major donors to cancel or put on hold huge contributions to the university.

Summers, who announced his resignation in February, had been embroiled in controversy after he suggested at a closed meeting in January 2005 that women in general have less aptitude than men in science and math.

As NewsMax reported earlier, Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison rescinded a $115 million gift to Harvard this past June due to Summers’ resignation.

Now media mogul Mort Zuckerman has withheld a $100 million donation to fund a neuroscience institute; Richard A. Smith, a former member of Harvard’s governing board, has withheld $100 million for a new science complex, and banker David Rockefeller has withdrawn a $75 million donation to fund undergraduate travel abroad.

A permanent replacement for Summers, former Secretary of Treasury under President Bill Clinton, has not yet been announced.
Harvard spokeswoman Donella Rapier tried to downplay the withheld donations, telling the Wall Street Journal: "It is quite normal in situations of leadership transition in any not-for-profit organization for donors who are considering very major gifts to wait for a new leader to be in place before finalizing and announcing a major commitment.”