Claudine Gay, the First Black President of Harvard University, Resigns Amid Plagiarism Allegations

Harvard University President Claudine Gay resigned on Tuesday amid fresh claims of plagiarism.

In October, Gay, a professor of politics, gender and race, was inaugurated as Harvard University’s latest president, making history the first Black person and the second woman to lead the revered institution.

Two months later, Gay made history again — this time, for the shortest tenure in the university’s history.

Calls for Gay’s resignation followed a congressional hearing about anti-Semitism on university campuses on Dec. 4, where Congresswoman Elise Stefanik accused Gay of not enforcing student code-of-conduct measures to stop “anti-Semitic” speech on campus. On Monday (Jan. 1), right-leaning news outlet The Washington Free Beacon published a new, unsigned complaint accusing her of plagiarism, adding to dozens of similar complaints filed since her tenure began.

Gay wrote “Between Black and White: The Complexity of Brazilian Race Relations,” published in 1993 by Origins magazine. Gay reportedly lifted one sentence from a source found in her “Suggestions for Further Reading” list, per CNN analysis. Further allegations accuse Gay of copying lines verbatim without citation from a 1996 article on racial polarization in Louisiana for her 1997 doctoral dissertation, “Taking Charge: Black Electoral Success and the Redefinition of American Politics,” for her PhD in political science.

In her resignation letter, she cited being “subjected to personal attacks and threats fuelled by racial animus” as a reason for her stepping down.

“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 in her statement, adding that it was “painful to witness the tensions and divisions that have riven our community in recent months rising at Harvard” and “distressing to have doubt cast on my commitments to confronting hate and to upholding scholarly rigour.”

Gay joined the faculty staff at the Ivy League school as a professor of government in 2006. The following year, she became a professor of African American Studies and later served as the dean of Harvard’s Social Sciences and dean of the school’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

In a statement published on its website, the Harvard Corporation announced its acceptance of Gay’s resignation.

“We do so with sorrow. While President Gay has acknowledged missteps and has taken responsibility for them, it is also true that she has shown remarkable resilience in the face of deeply personal and sustained attacks,” the statement continues. “While some of this has played out in the public domain, much of it has taken the form of repugnant and in some cases racist vitriol directed at her through disgraceful emails and phone calls. We condemn such attacks in the strongest possible terms.”

Gay has vehemently denied all allegations of plagiarism.