What's going on with Harvard President Dr. Gay?

• Dr. Gay testified at a congressional hearing on antisemitism on US college campuses on December 5, 2023[1].

• She was asked by a Republican lawmaker whether calling for the genocide of Jews violated Harvard’s code of conduct or rules regarding bullying and harassment[1].

• She replied that it depended on the context and that Harvard only takes action when the speech crosses into conduct that amounts to bullying, harassment, or intimidation[1].

• Her answer sparked a national backlash and criticism from Jewish groups, students, alumni, and the White House[1] [2] [3].

• She apologized for her remarks in an interview with The Crimson student newspaper and said that calls for violence against the Jewish community have no place at Harvard[1].

• She also announced the formation of an Antisemitism Advisory Group of faculty, alumni, students, and leaders of Harvard’s Jewish community to help develop a strategy for confronting antisemitism on campus[4].

• The Harvard Corporation, the university’s key oversight board, issued a statement of unanimous support for Dr. Gay and said that she is the right leader for Harvard[2] [5].

• Update: Dr. Gay resigned on Tuesday Jan 2, 2024[6].

  1. Harvard board keeps president as leader of Ivy League school following antisemitism backlash ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  2. Top oversight board backs Harvard University leader: ‘We unanimously stand in support of President Gay’ ↩2

  3. Read Harvard’s statement saying that president Claudine Gay is the ‘right leader’ for the university as it faces continued accusations of failing to condemn antisemitism on campus

  4. Harvard’s president has apologised for controversial remarks she made at a congressional hearing about antisemitism on US college campuses.

  5. Combating Antisemitism

  6. AP: Plagiarism charges downed Harvard’s president. A conservative attack helped to fan the outrage