Harvard President Claudine Gay. Photo: Getty Images
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Harvard President Claudine Gay has announced she is resigning.
Gay, the first Black woman to serve as president of the university, made the announcement in a letter to the Harvard community Tuesday afternoon. This comes amid plagiarism accusations and backlash about how she responded to questions at a congressional hearing last month about antisemitism on campus.
During the hearing, Gay was unable to say unequivocally that calls for genocide of Jews on campus violated the university's conduct policy. She said it depended on the context and that when speech crosses into conduct, it violates the policies.
"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. 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," Gay wrote.
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Alan M. Garber, Harvard's Provost and Chief Academic Officer, will serve as Interim President until a new leader takes office, the Harvard Board wrote in another letter to the community on Tuesday.
"We do so with sorrow. 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. 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," the Board wrote.
Gay was inaugurated as Harvard's president in late September.
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