Harvard President Claudine Gay Faces Mounting Pressure Following Resignation of Penn's Liz Magill
Amidst the resignation of University of Pennsylvania's president, Liz Magill, all eyes are on Harvard's Claudine Gay As pressure mounts, explore Gay's approach and the varied responses from the community
Now that Liz Magill has resigned as president of the University of Pennsylvania, attention has shifted to her counterpart at Harvard University, Claudine Gay.
Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, "One down. Two to go," referring to Gay and MIT President Sally Kornbluth. Regarding @Harvard, Stefanik stated, "I questioned President Gay 17 times about whether advocating for the genocide of Jews violates Harvard's code of conduct. She spoke her truth 17 times. And the world listened."
Stefanik is a member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, which summoned Magill, Gay, and Kornbluth last Tuesday to provide testimony regarding their handling of alleged incidents of antisemitism on their campuses following the Israel-Hamas war.
Their testimonies, which were widely condemned, failed to explicitly denounce calls for the genocide of Jews as a violation of campus harassment and bullying policies. On Friday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers sent a letter to the governing boards of Harvard, Penn, and MIT, urging them to remove their university leaders.
Gay apologized for her remarks in an interview with The Harvard Crimson, saying, "I am sorry. Words matter." She admitted that she got caught up in an extended, combative exchange and should have returned to her guiding truth, which is that violence against the Jewish community and threats to Jewish students have no place at Harvard and will never go unchallenged.
Gays approach
In the wake of the terror attacks by Hamas on October 7 and Israel's subsequent strikes on Gaza, Harvard, along with several other academic institutions, has faced criticism for alleged antisemitism on campuses. Harvard is one of the 14 colleges under investigation by the Department of Education for discrimination involving shared ancestry, which encompasses both Islamophobia and antisemitism.
Gay, a political scientist specializing in the overlap of politics and race, was officially sworn in as Harvard's 30th president in July, following her service as the dean of the school's Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
On the other hand, Penn's Magill faced mounting pressure before her resignation. Donors had been demanding her resignation since September, when the university permitted speakers known for making antisemitic comments to take part in the "Palestine Writes Literature Festival" on campus. These tensions were exacerbated further with the onset of the current Israel-Hamas conflict.
Gay has been vocal in acknowledging the concerns of Jewish students. On October 7, a coalition of student groups issued a statement attributing blame for Hamas attacks to the Israeli government. This statement was heavily criticized by business leaders and alumni, who called for the blacklisting of the groups' members. A coalition spokesperson later clarified that the group strongly opposes violence against all civilians, whether Palestinian, Israeli, or otherwise.
Three days after the coalition's letter was published, Gay issued a statement denouncing the "terrorist acts committed by Hamas" and stating that "no student group, not even 30 student groups, represents Harvard University or its leadership."
During a speech at Harvard's Jewish student organization in late October, Gay revealed that she had formed an advisory group consisting of "faculty, staff, alumni, and religious leaders from the Jewish community" to "assist us in comprehensively and tangibly addressing the manifestations of antisemitism at our campus and within our campus culture."
Despite this, Gay's ability to accept responsibility in the midst of criticism could be the deciding factor in her potential resignation. The Harvard Crimson reported on Sunday that "a source close to the governing boards" disclosed Harvard's board is convening for a routine meeting on campus. CNN has requested a comment from Harvard.
Community backlash takes different forms
Gay and her colleagues have come under fire from business leaders and alumni for their perceived failure to address antisemitism on their campuses. One of her most vocal critics, billionaire hedge fund CEO Bill Ackman, went as far as to call for their resignation in disgrace after their testimony before Congress, expressing his disgust with their handling of the issue.
Harvard graduate Ackman has openly questioned the academic integrity and values of Gay, the first Black woman to lead Harvard, by suggesting on social media that she was hired solely to fulfill diversity metrics.
However, criticism from the Harvard community has largely portrayed discrimination on campus as a systemic issue, rather than a moral failing on Gay's part. Following Gay's controversial testimony, Rabbi David Wolpe announced his resignation from Harvard's antisemitism advisory group, stating that addressing the combination of ideologies at Harvard that portray Jews as oppressors while minimizing and denying the Jewish experience "requires more than just a committee or a single university."
"He emphasized that hiring or firing a single person will not bring about change," he wrote, expressing his belief in Gay's kindness and thoughtfulness. Over 1,800 alumni donors, who signed an open letter to Gay and Dean of Harvard College Rakesh Khurana, have demanded tangible reforms to support Jews on campus. They have also cautioned that they would withdraw their donations if these measures were not implemented.
