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Claudine Gay steps down as president of Harvard

Gay said that it has been "frightening to be subjected to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus." However, she was not criticized for her skin color, rather for alleged plagiarism and statements described as antisemitic.

Claudine Gay, presidente de Harvard

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Verónica Silveri Pazos

In a statement obtained by NBCBoston, Harvard President Claudine Gay announced her decision to resign from her position. With her resignation, Gay became the shortest-serving president of the institution.

In the statement sent to the Harvard community, Gay stated that it has been "frightening to be subjected to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus." However, the president was not criticized for her skin color, rather for alleged plagiarism and statements described as antisemitic in a congressional hearing:

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. 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.

Tensions surrounding Gay

Following the resignation of former University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill over her antisemitic comments in front of Congress, pressure was focused on Claudine Gay.

The House Education and Workforce Committee called Magill, Gay and Sally Kornbluth (president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) to testify over their apparent support of antisemitic protests and incidents at their universities regarding the war between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group. Despite the warning, before the House, none of the three condemned calls for the genocide of Jews. Therefore, a bipartisan group of 74 congressmen sent a signed letter to the boards of directors of the respective universities urging them to remove them from their positions.

The Harvard Corporation, the Board of Overseers, and the university's governing organizations met to discuss the controversy, and some business leaders and Harvard alumni expressed disapproval of Gay and her counterparts for their lack of action in the fight against antisemitism on their campuses.

Gay was also investigated by the House Education Committee due to accusations that she committed plagiarism in her academic work. A complaint obtained by The Washington Free Beacon includes more than 40 accusations of plagiarism against the now former president of Harvard. "The complete list of examples covers seven of Gay's publications (two more than previously reported) that comprise almost half of his academic output," detailed The Washington Free Beacon report.

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