The esteemed US university’s student newspaper announced the resignation of Harvard University’s president on Tuesday. She was criticized for her handling of anti-Semitism on campus and for allegedly plagiarizing.
In recent months, Claudine Gay came under fire when it was revealed that she had improperly used academic sources in her work. Her presidency was the shortest in the history of the university.
The most recent accusations came Tuesday, published anonymously in a conservative online outlet.
Gay was also embroiled in controversy when, last month, she testified before Congress with the presidents of MIT and Pennsylvania, she refused to state categorically whether or not advocating for the extermination of Jews was against Harvard’s code of conduct.
After her appearance before Congress, the Harvard Corporation, which oversees the institution, supported her; however, as the campus community responded to the Gaza war, they took issue with her response to the October 7 incident in Israel.
In addition to a number of prominent Harvard alums and contributors, more than 70 lawmakers—including two Democrats—called for her resignation.
Still, more than 700 Harvard faculty members had signed a letter supporting Gay.
The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gay, 53, is a political science professor who was born in New York to Haitian immigrants. In July, he was elected as Harvard University’s first Black president, making history at the 368-year-old university in Cambridge, outside of Boston.
