Billionaire Bill Ackman said Saturday that even if embattled Harvard University President Claudine Gay resigns over her plagiarism and anti-Semitism controversies, the Ivy League school’s damaged reputation will not be restored.
Ackman, an alumnus, said Harvard can only restore its reputation as one of the world’s leading universities “when the Corporation’s board members recognize that they made a poor choice of leader, something they were unwilling to do.” . wrote in a long post.
Gay faces growing calls to resign amid mounting evidence that he plagiarized several dozen times in his academic work, and as Harvard faces criticism for its handling of a wave of anti-Semitism on campus after the Hamas attacks of September 7 October against Israel.
To date, the Harvard Corporation, the school’s highest governing body, has staunchly defended its president with unanimous support.
“By waiting for President Gay to resign, board members may temporarily absolve themselves of responsibility and avoid the inevitable accusation of racism, but they are digging deeper. [sic] for themselves,” the hedge fund manager continued.
Hedge fund manager and Harvard alum Bill Ackman says Gay’s resignation from the school is not enough to fix his reputation. REUTERS
“When your CEO has done something indefensible, you must take immediate action to replace her. If you don’t, you become guilty of what were initially only her failures,” Ackman wrote.
“They need to act now.”
The Post has contacted Gay’s office for comment.
Ackman, who is of Jewish descent, called for Gay to be fired earlier this month, along with former University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill and MIT President Sally Kornbluth, after they testified before Congress about the anti-Semitic protests on their campuses.
Magill and UPenn Board of Trustees Chairman Scott Bok resigned on December 9 after donors revolted over their testimony.
Harvard President Claudine Gay is facing accusations of plagiarism as well as backlash for her handling of anti-Semitic behavior on campus following Hamas’ shocking attack on Israel on October 7. REUTERS
He later said Harvard refused to remove Gay as president because firing her “would make it look like they were bowing to me.”
This week, an internal investigation into Gay revealed more than 40 allegations of plagiarism from others’ work in his 1997 doctoral thesis and four other articles published between 1993 and 2017.
Harvard is being investigated by the House Education and Workforce Committee for its handling of anti-Semitism by the Department of Education under Title VI, a law that prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, or national origin at an institution. that receives federal funds.
The committee on Wednesday announced an investigation into how the school handled plagiarism allegations against Gay, and the university supported it.
Claudine Gay testified before Congress about alleged anti-Semitic incidents on campus. fake images
Applications for early admission to Harvard have plummeted 17% amid controversies.
“Every hour of inaction further damages the institution for which they have a fiduciary responsibility,” Ackman wrote Saturday. “The board’s actions and inactions to date are indefensible in light of its fiduciary responsibilities to Harvard, the faculty, the student body, the alumni community, and other societal stakeholders.”
Ackman has been a prominent figure in the fight against anti-Semitism in the United States since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, calling for the release of the names of Harvard students who blamed Israel for the attack and the suspension of an editor. from a Harvard student newspaper.
In November, he called for the editor of the Harvard Law Review to be disciplined after he was caught on video blocking the path of an individual who allegedly supported Israel during a demonstration.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn