Harvard President Claudine Gay submits her resignation
In mid-December, Gay had averted a resignation after the Harvard Corporation, the university's governing body, backed her. Gay - the first African-American female president in Harvard's history - had previously been questioned about anti-Semitism at a congressional hearing. When asked whether students who call for the "genocide of Jews" on campus violate the university's code of conduct, she replied: "It depends on the context."
In addition to this much-criticized statement, Gay was also confronted with accusations of plagiarism. The 53-year-old was accused of not quoting accurately in her publications. In July, Gay, who was born in New York to Haitian immigrants, was appointed the first African-American female president in the history of the world-famous university near Boston in the US state of Massachusetts.
In recent weeks, there have been loud calls for her resignation, including from a group of more than 70 members of Congress. However, patrons of the university and more than 700 faculty members have also sided with her.
Since the attack on Israel by the radical Islamic group Hamas on October 7 and the subsequent start of the Israeli bombardment of targets in the Gaza Strip, anti-Semitic incidents and hate crimes against Jews, but also Muslims, have increased in the USA. There have also been anti-Semitic actions at universities.
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- Despite the backing from the Harvard Corporation earlier in December, recent calls for the resignation of Harvard President Claudine Gay, including from over 70 members of Congress, continue to persist.
- Amidst the controversy surrounding her responses to anti-Semitism at a congressional hearing and allegations of plagiarism, Gay's tenure as the first African-American female president of Harvard has been marked by significant criticism.
- Following a statement that appeared to downplay the severity of anti-Semitic remarks made by students on campus, Gay's handling of the issue contributed to her resignation, which she submitted in response to the mounting pressure.
- Claudine Gay, who was appointed as the first African-American female president of Harvard in July 2022, faced a tumultuous end to her tenure, as the controversy surrounding her leadership and the university's response to anti-Semitism eventually led to her resignation.
Source: www.stern.de
