Claudine Gay Resigns as Harvard President

Claudine Gay, the president of Harvard University, has resigned after being accused of plagiarism and coming under attack over her response to anti-Semitism on campus.

Dr Gay, who was appointed to the post in July, is Harvard’s shortest-serving president since the university was founded in 1636.

Her resignation was described by critics as “long overdue”.

Dr Gay was Harvard’s first black president and second woman to hold the post.

“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,” she wrote.

“It has become clear that it is in the best interests of Harvard for me to resign so that our community can navigate this moment of extraordinary challenge with a focus on the institution rather than any individual.”

Dr Gay was the second Ivy League president to quit in a matter of weeks after a disastrous congressional hearing into the wave of anti-Semitism sweeping across US campuses in the wake of the Gaza conflict.

She followed Liz Magill, president of the University of Pennsylvania in standing down.

Dr Gay, 53, provoked a backlash when she failed to unequivocally condemn calls for genocide against Jews when she appeared before the Republican-led House Education Committee.

Asked whether such calls breached Harvard’s bullying and harassment policy, she said it depended “on the context”.

Alumni and major donors reacted furiously to Dr Gay’s remarks.

Sir Len Blavatnik, a billionaire whose foundation has given more than $270 million (£214 million) to Harvard, was among the supporters who paused donations.

Dr Gay tried to undo the damage with a profuse apology in an interview with Harvard Crimson, the university newspaper.

“When words amplify distress and pain, I don’t know how you could feel anything but regret,” she said.

But while the Harvard hierarchy backed her, Dr Gay’s difficulties were compounded by a wave of allegations of plagiarism.

The Harvard Corporation, which runs the university, disclosed that it had received three complaints.

It said it had found “a few instances of inadequate citation”. Dr Gay, the corporation added, had requested corrections to two of the articles she had written.

Nevertheless, it concluded, Dr Gay had not violated the university’s standards for “research misconduct”.

More allegations followed. The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative website, claimed to have found more than 40 more cases of plagiarism.

Dr Gay, however, said she “stood by the integrity of my scholarship”.

Within Harvard, there were also signs that she was losing support on campus.

A student member of Harvard College’s Honour Council, responsible for maintaining academic standards, wrote a blistering attack in the student newspaper.

“What is striking about the allegations of plagiarism against President Gay is that the improprieties are routine and pervasive,” the student wrote.