Ex-Harvard President Gay decries racism in resignation letter

(NewsNation) — Harvard University is grappling with a plagiarism scandal that has led to the resignation of President Claudine Gay. 

The allegations against Gay involve multiple instances of unattributed copying from other scholars’ works. However, the fallout has been significant, with at least 50 documented cases of academic dishonesty and six new plagiarism allegations emerging. 

In an open letter to the Harvard community, Gay wrote that she was stepping down to allow the community to deal with the current challenges as an institution rather than focusing on one individual. 

Gay also said it had been distressing for her to experience personal attacks and threats based on “racial animus” and to have doubts cast on her commitment to academic integrity and combatting hate speech. 

“Amidst all of this, it has been distressing to have doubt cast on my commitments to confronting hate and to upholding scholarly rigor — two bedrock values that are fundamental to who I am — and frightening to be subjected to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus,” she wrote. 

Gay was the first person of color and the first Black woman to serve as Harvard’s president. In a letter, Harvard’s governing board thanked Gay for her service and condemned personal and racist attacks made against her. 

Dr. Carol Swain, a prominent legal scholar and best-selling author, believes this response falls short. She argues that Gay’s letter doesn’t address the mounting plagiarism claims.

Swain says Gay plagiarized her work to enhance her doctoral thesis, arguing that Harvard failed to hold its president to the same academic standards applied to faculty and students.   

Swain expressed frustration with the Harvard board’s response in an “On Balance” interview, stating, “Harvard is trying to sweep this whole plagiarism issue under the rug.”  

She further criticized the university for providing Gay a “soft landing,” allowing her to keep her faculty position despite questions about the legitimacy of her dissertation and research record. 

Swain argued that the focus should be on merit rather than diversity in hiring decisions, stating, “If they want to redeem Harvard University, they need to find the best-qualified candidate, even if it is a middle-aged white man.” 

Touching upon the implications for students and the credibility of Harvard University, Swain expressed concern about the broader impact on education, stating, “It’s bigger than me. It’s bigger than Harvard. It’s about American education because of Harvard University.”