A big day on campus…
On Tuesday, Harvard University President Claudine Gay officially resigned from her position.
“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,” Gay said in a statement shared on X. “This is not a decision I came to easily. Indeed, it has been difficult beyond words because I have looked forward to working with so many of you to advance the commitment to academic excellence that has propelled this great university across centuries. But, after consultation with members of the Corporation, 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.”
The Harvard Crimson, the school's newspaper, reported Gay resigned on Tuesday afternoon, only six months after she was hired and going down in school history as its shortest presidency.
Gay has faced increased pressure to step down from her position after a string of controversies.
The former President of Harvard has fashed harsh criticism and calls to resign for failing to clarify at a House Education and the Workforce hearing last month whether calls for intifada or the genocide of Jews on campus violated their institutions' codes of conduct or policies against bullying and harassment.
According to Fox News, the hearing came in response to rising antisemitism at American universities following Hamas' October 7 terrorist attacks in southern Israel.
Gay has also been at the center of a scandal in which she was accused of multiple instances of plagiarism in scholarly works.
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