Embattled Harvard President Claudine Gay Resigns after Plagiarism, Antisemitism Scandals

Harvard University president Claudine Gay announced Tuesday, January 2, that she is stepping down from leading the prestigious college, following weeks of controversy over campus politics and her own academic record.

“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,” Gay, 53, wrote in the emotional missive. “[I]t has become clear that it is in the best interests of Harvard for me to resign so that our community can … focus on the institution rather than any individual,” she explained.

Calls for Gay’s resignation started in the fall when she would not condemn over 30 Harvard student groups that published a letter holding Israel “entirely responsible” for Hamas’ October 7 terror attack.

She then appeared before Congress on December 5 where she refused to say that anyone calling for the genocide of Jews at the university would be punished. In her resignation, Gay cited how she had been subject to racism since the attacks.

Inaction over antisemitism on campus and Gay’s disastrous appearance before Congress led Rabbi David Wolpe, a visiting professor at Harvard Divinity School, to quit a panel formed by Gay to advise on antisemitism because there was “no sense of urgency, no sense of anger, no sense of disgust,” at the “urgent crisis” before them.

Political Science professor Gay will now return to a position as a regular faculty member after the six-month stint as professor, the shortest in Harvard’s history. Harvard Provost and Chief Academic Alan Garber will step in as interim president. (NYP / VFI News)