CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Former Harvard University president and ex-U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers will resign from his academic roles at Harvard at the end of the current academic year, the university confirmed Wednesday, amid intense scrutiny over his past relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Summers, 71, is expected to relinquish his University Professorship — one of Harvard’s highest faculty distinctions — and step down from his position as co-director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School. He has been on leave from teaching and administrative duties since November amid a university review of his ties to Epstein.
A Harvard spokesperson confirmed the plan to The New York Times and told The Boston Globe that Summers will remain on leave and fully step down from his faculty roles by the end of the academic year. Neither Summers nor Harvard immediately provided additional details beyond the confirmation.
In a statement to The Harvard Crimson, Summers called the decision “difficult” and expressed gratitude for his long association with the university. He said he looks forward to continuing scholarly work in research and commentary as a retired professor.
Summers’ resignation follows the release of emails and documents showing cozy, frequent correspondence between him and Epstein from 2013 to 2019, including personal dating advice and disparaging remarks about women. The disclosures triggered backlash and raised questions about judgment and institutional affiliations, even though there is no public evidence that Summers was involved in any criminal conduct. Harvard has launched a broader review of individuals connected to the newly released materials.
Summers, who served as Harvard’s president from 2001 to 2006 and as U.S. Treasury secretary from 1999 to 2001, also resigned from the OpenAI board of directors last year amid the controversy.
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