Harvard University president resigns amid accusations of plagiarism and anti-Semitism

The rector of Harvard University, Claudia Gayannounced her resignation this Tuesday after being embroiled in controversy over her statements last month on antisemitism before the United States Congress and recently accusations of plagiarism in his academic work.

Gay, the Harvard’s first black chancellor, had been in office for just six months. She was subjected to scrutiny for her management of institutional communication around the war between Israel and Hamas and indicated in a letter that his decision to resign was in response to consultations with the centre’s governing body, which reiterated its support.

The former rector alludes to some of them “tensions and divisions” which have “weakened the bonds of trust and reciprocity” in the university community, to “doubts” about its commitment against hatred and respect for academic rigor, and declares itself “afraid” for personal attacks “fueled by racial animosity.”

In the session of Congress held on December 5, in a context of tension in universities due to the war in Gaza, Gay was asked whether calling for the genocide of the Jews violated the rules of the educational institution, to which he replied that “it depended from context”, which generated controversy.

Another president present at that session, that of the prestigious University of Pennsylvania, Liz Magill, and who responded to the aggressive questioning of the legislators in terms similar to those of Gay, He resigned from his position four days later.

The former rector was recently accused of plagiarism in her academic work, and on Monday she was the subject of a complaint to the university which calls for an investigation because the examples of material not adequately cited would rise to fifty, according to the free newspaper The Faro Washington.

In December, Harvard’s governing body said its review of Gay’s work revealed examples of “inappropriate citation” but did not consider them research misconduct, and the former dean herself requested corrections to two papers and is updating a thesis to alleviate the problem, he said.

The body, in a letter, lGay’s resignation increased today and explained that, faced with “escalating controversies and conflicts” at Harvard, which also extends to the field of “higher education”, the leadership sought to defend “the best interests of the institution”.

“(We accept the resignation) with pain. Although President Gay has recognized the mistakes and taken responsibility for them, it is also true that she has demonstrated remarkable resilience in the face of sustained and deeply personal attacks,” he explained, condemning the “disgusting and sometimes racist insults” he received.

Gay, a political scientist, ends the shortest tenure in the university’s history after being named rector last July and will return as a professor; She will be temporarily replaced in the role by Alan Garber, an economist and doctor who was previously academic director, the organization said.