Claudine Gay, who is also Harvard’s first Black president, assumed her role in July|@harvard|Instagram
Havard President Claudine Gay announced her resignation yesterday amid allegations of plagiarism and criticism over recent congressional testimony on campus antisemitism. Her departure marks the shortest presidency in the university’s history.
Harvard expressed sorrow over Gay’s resignation, acknowledging her resilience against personal attacks. Harvard’s provost, Alan Garber, will serve as interim president.
Gay, Harvard’s first Black president, assumed her role in July.
What happened?
Gay’s leadership received criticism after several people, including billionaire Bill Ackman, condemned her response to the question of whether extreme antisemitism violated the student code of conduct.
Allegations of Gay copying from other scholars emerged soon after. However, the plagiarism accusations had been brought to the university’s attention prior to her testimony.
Soon after the congressional panel, claims surfaced that she had lifted content from another professor’s work 20 years ago. Harvard’s governing body vouched that Gay did not engage in research misconduct and supported her to continue.
Gay’s resignation came after another set of allegations, published Monday, implicated half of her published work.
Power of politicians and donors
Gay’s resignation follows the December resignation of Penn’s president, Elizabeth Magill. The abrupt decision also throws light on the power politicians and donors hold over universities.
Major donors threatened to withdraw from universities that didn’t condemn antisemitism on campuses, which has been growing since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.