Harvard president resigns amid claims of plagiarism and antisemitism backlash

Gay’s resignation comes just six months after her presidency began, making hers the shortest tenure in Harvard’s history. The daughter of Haitian immigrants, Gay was appointed the first Black person and the second woman to the lead the Ivy League institution.

On 5 December, Gay, along with the presidents of MIT and the University of Pennsylvania testified before Congress about their campuses’ handling of accusations of antisemitism, following the beginning of the Israel-Gaza war. All three presidents offered legalistic answers, the Guardian reported weeks ago. Following their testimonies, more than 70 US lawmakers signed a letter in response demanding the presidents be removed. The University of Pennsylvania’s president resigned on 9 December. Gay apologized later for her answers.

The campaign against Gay’s presidency was largely promoted by conservative activists, including those who oppose diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. They argued that Gay was hired not because of her decades of academic work and recognition, but rather because she is Black. New plagiarism allegations surfaced on Monday in a conservative online journal that has led the campaign against Gay. Following the initial complaints, Gay defended her work. “I stand by the integrity of my scholarship,” she wrote. Gay later added additional quotes and citations to the articles.

Despite those calls, Gay won a statement of confidence from Harvard Corporation, the school’s governing board. She maintained support from colleagues, including hundreds of professors signing a petition opposing calls for her to back down, and advocates who saw the attacks on her presidency as threatening free speech.