Harvard University President Claudine Gay, who has been under intense scrutiny for testimony she gave at a congressional hearing on campus antisemitism, as well as allegations of plagiarism in her academic work, will resign.
“It is with a heavy heart but a deep love for Harvard that I write to share that I will be stepping down as president,” Gay said in a letter to the Harvard community. “This is not a decision I came to easily. Indeed, it has been difficult beyond words because I have looked forward to working with so many of you to advance the commitment to academic excellence that has propelled this great university across centuries.”
But after consulting with the university’s highest governing board, Gay added, “it has become clear that it is in the best interests of Harvard for me to resign so that our community can navigate this moment of extraordinary challenge with a focus on the institution rather than any individual.”
Gay’s six-month tenure is the shortest in the university’s 388-year history, according to the Harvard Crimson student newspaper. She was the first Black person and the second woman to lead the institution.
The fellows of Harvard College announced that Alan M. Garber, the school’s provost and chief academic officer, would serve as interim president until a permanent successor is named. The fellows said Gay will return to a faculty position.
Gay drew fierce criticism last month after she and her counterparts at the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology appeared to sidestep the question of whether students calling for the genocide of Jewish people should be punished. Penn President Liz Magill resigned days after the widely panned hearing.
Gay then faced allegations of plagiarism in her political science scholarship. The Harvard Corporation, the school’s highest governing body, ordered an investigation that “revealed a few instances of inadequate citation” but found no violation of Harvard’s standards for research misconduct.
Gay’s job appeared to be secure Dec. 12 after the Harvard Corporation, responding to growing calls for her ouster, released a statement saying its members “reaffirm our support for President Gay’s continued leadership of Harvard University.”
But the questions swirling around Gay’s position did not abate over the holidays.
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman, as well as conservative activists such as Christopher Rufo, continued to put pressure on Harvard via posts on social media. The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative publication, published an unsigned complaint Monday that referred to six new allegations of plagiarism, exacerbating the crisis.
Harvard’s communications office did not have comment on the additional plagiarism accusations.
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