Claudine Gay RESIGNS as Harvard President, But Doesn’t Mention Testimony About Anti-Semitism OR Plagiarism Claims in Acid Resignation Letter Saying She’s Been a Victim of Racism
Harvard President Claudine Gay has resigned after a disastrous short stint as head of the prestigious university.
Today, she wrote in an email to colleagues that she was withdrawing after “consultations” with the school’s administration, which was under pressure to replace her after she defended her testimony in Congress about anti-Semitism on campus.
She refused to acknowledge where she had gone wrong — and made no mention of her refusal to condemn anti-Semitism as harassment at a December 5 Congressional hearing or the mounting accusations of plagiarism against her — but said she had been the victim of racist threats.
“It has become clear that it is in Harvard’s best interests to resign so that our community can navigate this moment of extraordinary challenge with a focus on the institution and not on any individual,” Gay wrote.
She said it was “frightening” to find herself the target of threats, and “disturbing” to have her character questioned.
Gay will be replaced by Alan M. Garber, Provost and Chief Academic Officer, who sat behind her during the infamous December 5 hearing and nodded as she delivered her remarks.
Her six-month term as president is the shortest in the school’s history.
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Harvard President Claudine Gay resigned today, a month after her disastrous testimony in Congress
Gay was publicly scorned for her December 5 testimony in Congress, where she repeatedly declined to condemn calls for genocide against Jews, saying it did not consider such threats to be intimidation.
In her email today, Gay complained: “It was troubling that my commitments to fight hate and uphold scientific rigor – two fundamental values that are fundamental to who I am – were questioned and frightening to be subjected to personal attacks and threats. fueled by racial animosity.”
She said she resigned with a heavy heart, but confirmed she would retain some role at the school.
“I believe we have everything we need to heal from this period of tension and division and emerge stronger.
“I had hoped with all my heart to lead us on that journey, working with all of you.
“As I return to the faculty, and to the science and education that are the lifeblood of what we do, I pledge to continue working with you to build the community we all deserve,” she said.
The Harvard Corporation said it accepted her resignation “with sadness.”
‘With that overarching consideration in mind, we have accepted her resignation. We do that with sadness.
“While President Gay has acknowledged and taken responsibility for missteps, it is also true that she has shown remarkable resilience in the face of deeply personal and persistent attacks.
Alan Garber (pictured right, in 2018 with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saudf) will serve as interim president in Gay’s absence
Garber supported Gay during the disastrous hearing, nodding as she made her remarks
Students protest against Israel at Harvard University on October 14. Many Jewish students said the extensive protests and the university’s response to them made them feel unsafe.
Students flew a “Harvard Hates Jews” sign over campus on December 7, two days after Gay’s testimony
“While some of this has taken place in the public domain, much of it has taken the form of disgusting and in some cases racist vitriol directed at her through outrageous emails and phone calls.
“We condemn such attacks in the strongest possible terms.”
Gay faced a wave of public backlash, initially saying her anti-Semitic comments had been misunderstood.
The Harvard Corporation supported her and resisted increasing calls for her resignation.
Since the hearing on December 5, she has been accused of plagiarism throughout her academic career.
On December 12, after the first claims emerged, Harvard supported her, insisting that she had been investigated and cleared.
Critics said it was a sham investigation that was opened and closed too quickly.
Since the anti-Semitism testimony, Gay has also been accused of plagiarizing large parts of her academic works
Privately, the Harvard Corporation – the university board where Gay sat at the top – was under pressure to make a change.
UPenn President Liz Magill resigned shortly after the Dec. 5 hearing, but Gay stood his ground.
In a statement, she said her comments had been taken out of context.
“Some have confused the right to free speech with the idea that Harvard will condone calls for violence against Jewish students.
“Let me be clear: Calls for violence or genocide against the Jewish community, or any religious or ethnic group, are despicable, they have no place at Harvard, and those who threaten our Jewish students will be held accountable,” he said. them during the meeting. time.
Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
Of Gay’s seventeen published academic works, seven were found to contain alleged examples of plagiarism.
On Monday, that total rose to eight, with another piece of her writing reportedly containing duplicate work.