Dr. Claudine Gay has resigned as Harvard’s first Black president after months of pressure over her refusal to condemn calls for Jew genocide on the school campus.
“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. This is not a decision I came to easily,” Gay wrote in a letter posted to Harvard’s website.
Gay was also accused of plagiarizing academic scholars.
One of the scholars whose papers Gay allegedly plagiarized was Dr. Carol Swain (pictured). Dr. Swain, a former professor at Vanderbilt University, said Harvard shouldn’t have hired Gay as president in the first place.
“Hire the best man or woman who can steer the university back towards sanity,” Swain posted on Twitter/X.
Swain also urged Harvard officials to “Stop listening to the racist mob of whites and blacks who cry racism.”
Gay was also criticized for her congressional testimony last month. During her testimony, Gay said calls for Jew genocide on Harvard’s campus didn’t count as harassment toward Jewish students.
Gay’s tenure as president was the shortest in Harvard history. She took the position only 8 months ago.
Former President Barack Obama defended Gay to the bitter end. Obama is a 1991 graduate of Harvard Law School and was the first Black president of the Harvard Law Review.
According to reports, Obama secretly pushed Harvard officials to keep Gay as president despite the loss of hundreds of millions in donations from wealthy Jewish supporters of Harvard.
After hearing from Obama, Harvard Corporation’s board members said in a Dec. 12 statement that Gay wasn’t going anywhere.
“Our extensive deliberations affirm our confidence that President Gay is the right leader to help our community heal and to address the very serious societal issues we are facing,” the board said.
Gay was under investigation by Harvard University for alleged plagiarism, but the probe determined the allegations were without merit.
