- After only around six months in office, Claudine Gay, the president of the elite US university Harvard, is stepping down.
- Gay has been criticized for weeks because of allegations of plagiarism and anti-Semitism.
- As the university newspaper “Harvard Crimson” reported, an interim representative has already been appointed.
The decision follows allegations of plagiarism and strong criticism of a hearing in the US Congress. At this, Gay as well as the President of the University of Pennsylvania Liz Magill and the President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sally Kornbluth defended themselves against accusations that they had not done enough to combat anti-Semitism on the US university’s campus.
During the hearing, all three admitted anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents at their universities. However, they refused to answer “yes” or “no” when asked whether the call for genocide against Jews violated the code of conduct at their universities.
Legend:
Due to incidents of anti-Semitism at Harvard University, Claudine Gay was forced to testify before the US Congress. (Image from December 5, 2023)
Keystone/ WILL OLIVER
They said the response would have to weigh the protection of freedom of expression. Gay was then accused of not taking a sufficient stance against anti-Semitism at the elite university at the hearing.
The hearing at the beginning of December was triggered by indications of increasing anti-Semitism at universities after the start of the Gaza war.
After the hearing, over 70 members of Congress called on the boards of the three universities to fire the presidents. Magill had already resigned.
In the “best interests of Harvard”
In addition to the allegations of anti-Semitism, the Harvard president was also accused of not always citing properly in academic papers. Gay had only been president of Harvard University for six months – and was the first African American to do so.
“With a heavy heart, but out of deep love for Harvard, I announce that I will be stepping down as president,” US media quoted Gay in a letter to the university community. The decision was not easy for her, but it was in the “best interests of Harvard.”
At Harvard, several hundred faculty members signed a petition calling on the university administration not to bow to political pressure and not to fire Gay.