Harvard University’s embattled president, Claudine Gay, is resigning from her position amid allegations of plagiarism.
On Tuesday, The Harvard Crimson broke the news Gay planned to resign the same day.
It noted the decision comes just over six months after she became the president of the university, and she will be the shortest-serving president in the institution’s history.
The recent controversy around Gay erupted after a House hearing focused on antisemitism on college campuses.
During the hearing, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) asked Gay and the presidents of M.I.T. and the University of Pennsylvania if calls for genocide against the Jewish people violated their colleges’ codes of conduct.
As The Associated Press noted, “Gay said it depended on the context, adding that when ‘speech crosses into conduct, that violates our policies.'”
That answer was widely criticized by Democrats and Republicans.
Gay later issued a statement in which she vowed Harvard would hold those who threatened Jewish students accountable and later apologized for her answer.
Late last year, she found herself in the midst of another scandal as she was accused of plagiarism in her scholarly work as a student — including her 1997 doctoral dissertation — and a professor.
Gay said she would issue corrections to her dissertation.
In a December statement, the Harvard Corporation expressed its “support for President Gay’s continued leadership of Harvard University.”
“With regard to President Gay’s academic writings, the University became aware in late October of allegations regarding three articles. At President Gay’s request, the Fellows promptly initiated an independent review by distinguished political scientists and conducted a review of her published work. On December 9, the Fellows reviewed the results, which revealed a few instances of inadequate citation,” the statement continued.
The Harvard Corporation: “In this tumultuous and difficult time, we unanimously stand in support of President Gay.” https://t.co/stSvH4t1BP
— Harvard University (@Harvard) December 12, 2023
But on Monday, it was reported Gay was accused of six more incidents of plagiarism. The Washington Free Beacon obtained a complaint detailing the allegations that was sent to the school.
It reported the latest complaint brings the total number of allegations of plagiarism close to 50.
