Harvard University President Claudine Gay resigns

Harvard University President Claudine Gay resigned Tuesday amid new allegations of plagiarism, becoming the second Ivy League leader to step down after controversy over their congressional testimony last month about antisemitism on campus.

Gay, who was the first Black person and only the second woman to serve as Harvard’s president, held that post for just over six months. Her tenure is the shortest in the university’s history.

Alan Garber, Harvard’s provost and chief academic officer, will serve as the university’s interim president while the Harvard Corporation searches for a permanent replacement.

“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 Tuesday.

“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,” she said.

“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 said.

On Monday, the Free Beacon news site reported that a new unsigned complaint filed with Harvard had six new allegations of plagiarism against Gay.

The Harvard Corporation several weeks ago said that an “independent review” of Gay’s published academic work had found several instances where she failed to adequately cite a source, and that she was requesting changes to two articles to correct that failure. But additional claims of plagiarism followed that statement, up to and including Monday, even as Gay said…