Claudine Gay was expected to remain as president of Harvard University with support from its governing body after calls for her resignation following testimony at a House hearing on anti-Semitism. Photo by Will Oliver/EPA-EFE
Harvard University President Claudine Gay is expected to remain in office with support from the university as she faces calls to resign following her testimony during a House hearing on anti-Semitism on college campuses.
The Harvard Crimson student newspaper reported that the Harvard Corporation, the highest governing body at the university, would announce the decision to keep Gay on board Tuesday morning. Advertisement
On Monday more than 700 members of Harvard’s faculty signed a letter to the Harvard Corporation urging the university leaders to let Gay continue to lead the institution.
“We, the undersigned faculty, urge you in the strongest possible terms to defend the independence of the university and to resist political pressures that are at odds with Harvard’s commitment to academic freedom, including calls for the removal of President Claudine Gay,” the letter said.
Gay also received support from the executive committee of the Harvard Alumni Association which said it “unanimously and unequivocally” supported her.
“We have full confidence in her leadership during this difficult time,” the committee wrote.
Gay appeared in the House hearing last week alongside Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth and University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill all of whom were questioned about whether students calling for the genocide of Jews amid Israel’s war with Hamas should be punished. Advertisement
In a line of questioning by Harvard alumnus Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., which was widely spread online following the hearing, Gay said such hateful speech is “abhorrent to me” and “at odds with the values of Harvard.”
But Gay and the other presidents declined to confirm that such speech was against the codes of conduct at their universities when pressed further.
“We embrace a commitment to free expression even of views that are objectionable, offensive, hateful — it’s when that speech crosses into conduct that violates our policies against bullying, harassment, intimidation,” Gay said.
Gay later apologized for her testimony.
“I am sorry,” Gay told The Crimson. “Words matter. When words amplify distress and pain, I don’t know how you could feel anything but regret.”
Magill resigned over the weekend in the wake of the testimony, prompting Stefanik to write “One down. Two to go,” in a post on social media.
Billionaire investor and Harvard alumnus Bill Ackman also joined the call for the remaining presidents to be removed, who wrote on social media that “the focus turns to Presidents Gay and Kornbluth and the boards of Harvard,” following Magill’s resignation.
The House last week announced it would launch a probe into policies and disciplinary procedures at higher education institutions following the testimony and the U.S. Education Department last month launched investigations into anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents 57 schools including Harvard and UPenn in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. Advertisement
