Harvard president announces her resignation

• Claudine Gay has resigned from her role as president of Harvard University.
• Gay drew criticism for an answer to a question about Jewish genocide during a Congressional hearing.
• Calls for her resignation grew stronger after plagiarism accusations gained public attention.

It's official — Claudine Gay is out as president of Harvard after less than a year.

Gay announced the move on Tuesday in a resignation letter published on Harvard's website. The news comes after weeks of scandal throughout December — including a controversial Congressional testimony and plagiarism accusations.

"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," Gay wrote in the letter.

In its own statement on the matter, the Harvard Corporation said Gay will "resume her faculty position at Harvard." Alan Gerber, Harvard's provost and chief academic officer, will serve as the interim president.

Calls for Gay's resignation began after she and the presidents of MIT and the University of Pennsylvania waffled over a question during a December 5 Congressional hearing. The school presidents were asked if calling for a Jewish genocide would violate each college's code of conduct.

"It can be, depending on the context," Gay answered.

The answers from Gay and the other school presidents sparked outrage amongst some major figures and eventually led to the resignation of Penn's president, Elizabeth Magill.

Harvard alum and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman was especially critical of Gay's remarks at the hearing. He called for all three presidents to "resign in grace." After an apology and receiving some public support, Harvard initially published a statement saying that Gay would remain as president.

But as the Ivy League school handled one PR nightmare, past plagiarism accusations against Gay came to light. Harvard Corporation and faculty members backed Gay once again and said she hadn't violated school policy, though she would be issuing some corrections to some of her past academic work.

After continued pressure, she and Harvard Corporation came to a difference decision — she was out.

"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," Gay wrote.

Gay also appeared to allude to the plagiarism allegations in her letter.

"Amidst all of this, it has been distressing to have doubt cast on my commitments to confronting hate and to upholding scholarly rigor—two bedrock values that are fundamental to who I am—and frightening to be subjected to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus," she wrote.

Gay succeeded Lawrence Bacow in July 2023 to become the 30th president of Harvard University. Prior to taking the president position, Gay served as Harvard's dean of faculty of arts and sciences.