Harvard University announced Tuesday that criticized President Claudine Gay will keep her job, even after reportedly losing more than $1 billion in donations since her disastrous testimony before Congress on anti-Semitism.
The Harvard Corporation, the university’s top governing body, made its announcement Tuesday following all-night talks between Gay and university leaders, a source familiar with the decision told the Harvard Crimson student newspaper.
“As members of the Harvard Corporation, today we reaffirm our support for President Gay’s continued leadership of Harvard University. “Our extensive deliberations affirm our confidence that President Gay is the right leader to help our community heal and address the very serious social issues we face,” the group said in a statement.
He acknowledged that the university should have issued an “immediate, direct and unequivocal condemnation” of the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, noting that “calls for genocide are despicable and contrary to fundamental human values,” in apparent contrast to testimony of Gay last week. .
“President Gay apologized for how she handled her testimony before Congress and pledged to redouble the university’s fight against anti-Semitism,” the group wrote.
Regarding allegations that Gay plagiarized numerous parts of his 1997 doctoral thesis in direct violation of Harvard’s academic integrity policies, the Harvard Corporation said that officials became aware of the plagiarism allegations in late October and initiated an independent review.
“On December 9, fellows reviewed the results, which revealed some cases of inappropriate citation.
“While the analysis found no violation of Harvard’s standards for research misconduct, President Gay proactively requests four corrections to two articles to insert citations and quotation marks that were omitted from the original publications.”
Still, the fellows said, “In this tumultuous and difficult time, we unanimously support President Gay.
Harvard University officials are expected to announce Tuesday that President Claudine Gay will retain her position. Boston Globe via Getty Images
“At Harvard, we champion open discourse and academic freedom, and we are united in our firm belief that calls for violence against our students or disruptions to the classroom experience will not be tolerated.
“Harvard’s mission is to advance knowledge, research, and discoveries that will help address deep social problems and promote constructive discourse, and we are confident that President Gay will guide Harvard toward accomplishing this vital work,” he added.
It is unclear what led the board to make the controversial decision to ignore fervent calls for his firing days after University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill lost her job over similar testimony that did not condemn calls for genocide.
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman claimed the board did not want to appear to be simply giving in to his public demands for ouster.
“Two journalists have now told me that one of the factors that made it difficult for the Harvard board to fire Gay was that they were concerned that they would appear to be kowtowing to me,” Ackman said of his public criticisms and calls for action..
“In other words, the reporters explained, quoting the trustees, ‘If Bill had stopped tweeting, we would have gotten to the right answer,'” he said.
“So much for ‘Veritas,’” he said, referring to the Latin word for “truth” that is part of Harvard’s motto.
AP
Ackman, CEO of Pershing Square, has made a name for himself as an outspoken critic of Ivy League presidents, whom he accuses of failing to root out anti-Semitism on campuses.
This intensified after Gay, Magill and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth failed to condemn calls for the genocide of Jews in their schools during a heated congressional hearing.
In addition to the blow to its reputation, Harvard has suffered a staggering financial loss in the scandal, the hedge funder claimed.
“President Gay’s failures have led to billions of dollars in donations to the university being cancelled, paused and withdrawn,” he wrote in a letter to the school’s board of trustees on Sunday. which he also posted online.
“I am personally aware of more than $1 billion in canceled donations from a small group of Harvard’s most generous Jewish and non-Jewish alumni.
Calls for Gay have been growing since she failed to condemn calls for the genocide of Jews. X / @AccuracyInMedia
“I have been copied and blind copied on numerous letters and emails sent to the university from alumni who have written scathing letters to Gay and/or the boards of trustees, withdrawing donations,” Ackman said.
He went on to accuse Gay of “doing more damage to Harvard’s reputation than anyone in the university’s history.”
Ackman also previously claimed that Gay was hired as president because of the school’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative, and shared accusations that the university’s president plagiarized numerous parts of her 1997 doctoral thesis in direct violation of policies. of academic integrity at Harvard.
Still, the Executive Committee of the Harvard University Alumni Association said Monday it would support it.
“President Gay is the right leader to guide the University through this difficult time,” the group wrote in a letter obtained by the Harvard Crimson.
Billionaire Bill Ackman claimed the university has lost more than $1 billion in donations since Gay’s testimony last week. @RepStefanik /X
“She is thoughtful. She’s kind. She is fiercely dedicated to the growth and well-being of our diverse community.
“We recognize that there was disappointment in your testimony last week,” the letter continues.
“President Gay has noted this and apologized for any pain his testimony has caused – a powerful demonstration of his integrity, determination and courage.”
The Harvard Corporation published its own letter saying Gay will stand up to anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Harvard University PSC
The Post has contacted Harvard for comment.
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