Harvard University Rector Claudine Gay announced her resignation from her post with a written statement.
Gay stated that she resigned from her post in order to prevent the recent controversies about her personally from wearing Harvard as an institution.
In her statement, Gay did not mention the controversy surrounding the demonstrations in support of Palestine organized on campus or the subsequent hearing she attended in the US Congress where anti-Semitism was discussed.
"It is now clear that my resignation is in Harvard's best interest so that the university can manage this very difficult process by focusing on the institution rather than the individual," Gay said.
Gay also stated that there is no place for hate crimes on campus.
In the news reflected in the US media, it was highlighted that Gay received intense reaction especially from pro-Israel groups after he evaluated the demonstrations against Israel within the scope of "freedom of thought", that the pressure increased with his answers to questions in the Congressional session he attended on December 5, 2023, and that the former rector "did not manage this process well".
On the other hand, allegations that Gay had "plagiarized in some of his previous academic works" were also reflected in the American media in the last week.
HE WAS CALLED TO TESTIFY
On December 5, the US Congressional Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing titled "Holding Campus Presidents Accountable and Combating Antisemitism" at which Claudine Gay, President of Harvard University, Elizabeth Magill, President of the University of Pennsylvania, and Sally Kornbluth, President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), were called to testify about their approach to incidents of antisemitism on college campuses.
The three rectors spent hours answering questions about disciplinary action against students on anti-Semitic issues, how universities represent diverse views, and security on campus.
Gay, Magill and Kornbluth, who became chancellors in the last year, said they would fight against anti-Semitism and the rise of anti-Muslim sentiment and hatred in all its forms.
All three have faced intense criticism and pressure for considering demonstrations against Israel as a form of free speech.
Magill, the Rector of the University of Pennsylvania, resigned following the pressure.
The Harvard University administration also announced that Rector Gay would remain in his position despite the backlash he received for his statements at the US Congressional hearing on anti-Semitism.
MIT Rector Kornbluth, on the other hand, remains in office despite being forced to resign.
