Claudine Gay resigns as Harvard president

Dr Gay faced harsh backlash for her comments to lawmakers about antisemitism on campus following Hamas attack on Israel

Harvard president Claudine Gay has resigned in the wake of a string of plagiarism accusations and an antisemitism row on the campus of the exclusive Ivy League university, according to a report.

Dr Gay, Harvard’s first Black president, quit on Tuesday just six months and two days into the job. Her period in charge of the university, which was founded in September 1636, is the shortest in its illustrious history.

“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. This is not a decision I came to easily,” she said in a statement.

“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 consultation with members of the Corporation, 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.”

Harvard President Claudine Gay speaks during a hearing of the House Committee on Education on Capitol Hill, 5 December 2023, in Washington (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The university announced that Dr Gay will resume her faculty position at the university. She will be replaced on an interim basis by Alan Garber, Provost and Chief Academic Officer, while the university searches for a new leader.

The university also defended Dr Gay from some of the attacks made on her over the past several months.

“While President Gay has acknowledged missteps and has taken responsibility for them, it is also true that she has shown remarkable resilience in the face of deeply personal and sustained attacks,” the university said in a statement.

“While some of this has played out in the public domain, much of it has taken the form of repugnant and in some cases racist vitriol directed at her through disgraceful emails and phone calls. We condemn such attacks in the strongest possible terms.”

Dr Gay’s resignation comes following her disastrous appearance before Congress on 5 December to defend the university’s response to antisemitism following the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel and the country’s military response in Gaza.

Dr Gay has also been hit by a string of plagiarism accusations, including six new ones in an unsigned complaint published by The Washington Free Beacon on Monday.

The new allegations took the number of plagiarism accusations against Dr Gay to around 40, reported The New York Times.

Dr Gay was given a vote of confidence from Harvard’s Corporation, the university’s governing body, on 12 December. But the board also said it was carrying out a review of her published work after receiving accusations about three of her articles in October.

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