Harvard University president Claudine Gay has announced her resignation after coming under pressure in recent weeks to relinquish her position as the 30th head of the prestigious institution.
The controversy erupted after Gay was accused of plagiarism, which followed after a heated debate around instances of alleged Anti-Semitism at the university in relation to the ongoing Israel-Palestine war.
Gay had been accused of failing to ensure the safety of Jewish students at the university after she did not unequivocally say that calling for genocide against the Jewish race was a breach of Harvard’s code of conduct.
Asked for a “yes or no” answer by Republican Party representative Elise Stefanik at a Congressional hearing if calling for the genocide of Jews violated Harvard’s rules around “bully and harrassment” Gay replied, “It can be depending on the context.”
Asked the same question again she replied, “Anti semitic rhetoric, when it crosses into conduct that amounts to bullying, harassment, intimidation, that is actionable conduct, and we do take action.”
The 53-year-old had also faced multiple accusations of plagiarism in relation to not correctly citing scholarly sources.
The Washington Free Beacon reported that on Monday a set of six new allegations of plagiarism had come to light “pushing the total number of allegations near 50” while accusing Gay of ‘lifting’ almost half a page of material “verbatim” from University of Wisconsin professor of science and scholar, David Canon.
In a statement published on the university’s website, Gay said it was with “a heavy heart” that she announced her departure.
Saying that “consultation with members of the Corporation” had made it “clear” that her resignation was “in the best interests of Harvard” she said she hoped the move would help the “community” at the university “navigate this moment of extraordinary challenge with a focus on the institution rather than any individual.”
Gay, who was the first African American to be appointed head of Harvard, said that she was committed to “confronting hate” and “upholding scholarly rigor” saying that it was “frightening” to be “subjected to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus.”
Her tenure was the shortest in Harvard’s history lasting only six months.
In a statement Harvard Corporation said it wished to “thank President Gay for her deep and unwavering commitment to Harvard and to the pursuit of academic excellence.”
While stating that Gay has “acknowledged missteps” the fellows of the university said that has faced “deeply personal and sustained attacks.”
“ While some of this has played out in the public domain, much of it has taken the form of repugnant and in some cases racist vitriol directed at her through disgraceful emails and phone calls. We condemn such attacks in the strongest possible terms.” it said.