Harvard President Gay resigns amid more plagiarism accusations, public statements on antisemitism

Harvard President Claudine Gay is resigning Tuesday afternoon, making her presidency the shortest in the university's history.

"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," she wrote in a message addressed to the members of the Harvard community.

She said that after consulting with Harvard board members, it became clear that it is in the university's best interest for her to resign. 

Her resignation, first reported by The Harvard Crimson, comes just six months and two days into her presidency. Harvard Provost Alan Garber will serve as the university's interim president. 

Gay is leaving her position as president after a new plagiarism complaint was filed Monday against the university. She now faces nearly 50 plagiarism allegations impacting half of her published works, according to The Washington Free Beacon. 

Gay's tenure was not only marked with growing plagiarism allegations but also with concerns over her response to antisemitism on campus. Gay apologized in December for stating at a congressional hearing that it depended "on the context" as to whether statements calling for the genocide of Jews violated school policies. 

Gay appeared at the congressional hearing alongside  M.I.T. President Sally Kornbluth and University of Pennsylvania President Elizabeth Magill, the latter of whom resigned days after testifying. At the time, the Harvard board had defended Gay as president and said that it was aware of plagiarism allegations against her in October and an independent review "revealed a few instances of inadequate citation." 

Follow Madeleine Hubbard on X or Instagram.