Claudine Gay is no longer president of Harvard University. This Tuesday, January 2, 2024, she officially announced her resignation in a letter, six months after taking office at the helm of the prestigious American university. “It has become clear that it is in Harvard’s best interest that I step down so that our community can meet this moment of extraordinary challenge with a focus on the institution rather than any individual.” she wrote in this letter, the contents of which were revealed by The New York Times.
For many weeks, the president of the renowned university has been at the center of numerous controversies amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East, particularly regarding the fight against anti-Semitism on campus. Return in five acts to the reasons for resignation.
On October 8, Harvard will be torn apart over the Israel-Hamas conflict
Hours after Hamas' deadly attack on Israel that killed nearly 1,400 people and took more than 200 others hostage, Harvard University was among the first in the United States to descend into polemic.
On October 8, dozens of student organizations from the prestigious university signed a letter in support of Palestine, pointing out Israel's responsibility for the attack due to Israel's occupation of the West Bank and the West Bank “racial segregation regime” imposed on the Palestinians. The text denounces a “Israeli violence” WHO “structured every aspect of Palestinian existence for seventy-five years.”
The statement caused controversy and was quickly denounced by Republican and Democratic elected officials, who heavily criticized establishment leadership for what was seen as too soft a response.
On October 10, Claudine Gay issued a press release on behalf of the university condemning this “Hamas Terrorist Atrocities”. This is what she presents in this text “No student group – not even 30 student groups – speaks for Harvard University or its leadership.”
But the reaction comes late: several major establishment donors and supporters of Israel are breaking off their ties with the university, the American broadcaster CNN recalls, and Harvard's leadership is already at the center of a major controversy.
Ministry of Education launches investigation into allegations of anti-Semitism
On November 28, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education decided to open an investigation into Harvard after noting an increase in cases of harassment on campus and allegations of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Several other prestigious universities in the country, such as Columbia, Cornell and Pennsylvania, are also the subject of investigations into anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.
December 5: Outcry after a congressional hearing
On Tuesday, December 5, after two months of controversy, the presidents of three American universities, including Claudine Gay for Harvard, were heard by members of the Education Committee in the House of Representatives on the issue of the increase in anti-Semitism on their respective campuses.
In a sequence that has gone viral on social networks, we can see how the three company managers are questioned by Elise Stefanik, an elected Republican from New York State. “Does calling for Jewish genocide violate Harvard's rules on bullying and harassment?”, she asks the three university presidents in turn, after remembering that several students had requested one “Intifada” against Israel on American campuses.
That's what Liz Magill appreciated at the head of the University of Pennsylvania “It depends on the context” but that “When language becomes behavior. It could be harassment, yes.” A similar reaction came from Harvard President Claudine Gay, who also made clarifications “When speech becomes behavior, we act.”
The response, which was not clearly directed against anti-Semitism, sparked an outcry. There are increasing calls for Claudine Gay to resign.
December 9: New controversy over plagiarism funds
Claudine Gay has been under constant fire from critics and in early December saw her name linked to yet another controversy. Conservative activists accuse him of plagiarism. As CNN explains, Bill Ackman, CEO of a billion-dollar hedge fund and staunch supporter of Israel, posted on social media claims that Claudine Gay plagiarized some of his academic papers, accusing him (without evidence) of being hired just for meetings be diversity requirements.
What followed was a wave of events that confirmed these allegations of plagiarism. Claudine Gay issued two academic articles on December 15, and five days later the House Education Committee expanded its existing investigation into anti-Semitism on Harvard's campus to include plagiarism allegations against Claudine Gay.
January 2nd: Resignation the day after new allegations
On Monday, January 1st, new allegations of plagiarism weighed on Claudine Gay. When interviewed by CNN, several plagiarism experts determined that other texts by the university president could certainly constitute plagiarism.
Jonathan Bailey, a plagiarism and copyright consultant who runs the website Plagiarism Today, suggested in an interview with CNN that Claudine Gay's resignation was imminent “Probably the best thing she can do for herself and the school.”
This resignation will therefore take place on Tuesday, January 2, 2024. Despite the support of numerous American professors, especially Defense “the independence of the university” And “The Culture of Free Thought” In the dispute over the fight against anti-Semitism, repeated accusations of plagiarism may have hastened the end of the president's short term in office.
First black president in Harvard University history mentioned in her letter “his deep connection to Harvard and its people” Who made “The tensions and divisions that have torn our community apart in recent months are all the more painful.” It also shows the strain “Seeing doubt hover over (his) commitments to fighting hate and respecting scientific accuracy – two core values of my identity – and being frightening to be the subject of personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animosity.” »