Harvard University President Claudine Gay resigned Tuesday after facing intense scrutiny for equivocal testimony she gave at a congressional hearing on campus antisemitism as well as widening allegations of plagiarism in her academic work.
“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 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 Harvard Corporation, the school’s highest governing body, 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 corporation’s members 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 calls for the genocide of Jews violate the school’s conduct rules. 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 ordered…
Read the full article here
