BILL STUNTZ says that Harvard is the General Motors of universities: “rich, bureaucratic, and confident–a deadly combination. Fifty years from now, Larry Summers’s resignation will be known as the moment when Harvard embraced GM’s fate.”

It’s also clear that, as with GM, making the customers happy with the product is less of a priority than bureaucratic infighting.

UPDATE: Bad news for Harvard — when you compare it to GM, the GM fans complain! Reader William Girardot emails:

I usually find myself agreeing with your commentary and even when I don’t, your views are quite thought provoking. Unfortunately, your opinions on GM and its products don’t fall into that category. GM’s products, from its new offerings in the Cadillac line to its new convertible roadsters, are eye-catching automobiles that surpass most German engineered cars and are nearly the equal of the Japanese.

Well, it’s the arrogant GM of several decades ago that Stuntz was invoking, not the much more eager to please GM of today.

Of course, it’s worth noting that it’s not just Harvard that’s suffering from the problems that Stuntz points out.