BOSTON, Massachusetts (Reuters) -- The most controversial leader in Harvard's history bowed out on Thursday in a final commencement that drew cheers and shouts of support from the students who backed him during a faculty rebellion.
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, while not directly addressing the controversy surrounding his February 21 resignation, acknowledged his disagreements with Harvard professors and said he had learned much about himself and leadership.
"I have loved my work here and I am sad to leave it. There was much more I wanted, felt inspired, to do," said Summers, who will step down on June 30 after the most tumultuous presidency in Harvard University's 370-year history.
Summers, 51, whose brusque management style won both praise and contempt, sparked controversy last year when he said innate differences between men and women may help explain why so few women work in the academic sciences.
He had apologized repeatedly but faced a revolt by staff that worsened with the abrupt resignation of arts and sciences dean William Kirby on January 27. Several faculty members accused Summers of pushing Kirby out and called for his resignation in February.
Summers also was embroiled in a public feud with the African-American Studies department that erupted shortly after he became president in 2001. The once-vaunted department saw an exodus of top scholars.
"Some of us have had our disagreements," Summers said. "But I know that which unites us transcends that which divides us. I leave with a full heart, grateful for the opportunity I have had to lead this remarkable institution."
Summers, a former World Bank chief economist and treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton, plans to take a one-year sabbatical before possibly returning to Harvard to teach economics, public policy and international affairs, though there is also speculation he may return to Washington.
Former Harvard president Derek Bok will lead the Ivy League school until a successor is chosen.
Students show support
Some students shouted "We love you, Larry" as Summers walked the paths to the main commencement stage, some shaking hands with him. One crowd chanted "Larry, Larry" before he conferred degrees on about 6,700 students when he again was cheered.
A poll released before his resignation showed most Harvard students backed Summers even if, as one student put it, he "can be a little rough around the edges." In the poll conducted by the Harvard Crimson student newspaper, 57 percent of 424 undergraduate students said Summers should not resign.
Many students had warmed to Summers' business-like approach to shaking up Harvard. In the turmoil before his resignation, the Crimson supported him and said he should not resign. Students said they felt his troubles had been exploited by faculty determined to maintain the university's status quo.
In a speech to alumni on Thursday following the commencement, Summers urged Harvard against complacency and pressed for a further expansion in new fields such as life sciences, where Harvard benefits from a $28 billion endowment that makes it the world's richest university.
This week, Harvard researchers said they had started efforts to clone human embryos as a source of valued stem cells, using private money to bypass federal restrictions.
Summers worked to put Harvard at the forefront of stem cell research, unveiling plans to expand Harvard's Cambridge campus into Boston's Allston district and build a 500,000-square-foot Stem Cell Institute.
There, scientists will try to create cloned embryonic stem cells -- master cells that can grow into almost any tissue in the body. Some scientists say stem cell research may one day yield a cure for Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.
"If Harvard can find the courage to change itself, it can change the world," said Summers, whose presidency was Harvard's shortest since Cornelius Felton died in 1862 after two years in office. "There is much more for Harvard to do."