Harvard University President Claudine Gay has stepped down from her position because she was not vocal in condemning campus antisemitism. “This was not a decision I came to easily,” said Gay in a Tuesday letter to the Harvard community. “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.” .After consultations with Harvard community members, Gay said 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.” She said her deep connection to it and its people has made it more painful to witness the tensions and divisions riven in recent months, hurting the bonds of trust and reciprocity that should be sources of strength and support during crises. Amid all of this, she admitted it has been distressing to have doubt cast on her commitments to fighting hate and scholarly rigour and frightening to be subjected to personal attacks and racist threats. Since she sees possibility and the promise of a better future, she said she believes in Harvard. These last few weeks have made clear the work it needs to do to build that better future, which includes combating hate and bias in all its forms, creating a learning environment where everyone’s dignity is respected and is treated with compassion and affirming its commitment to open inquiry and freedom of expression. The former president went on to say she believes it has the ability to heal from these tensions and divisions and to emerge stronger. As she returns to faculty and to the scholarship and teaching that is the lifeblood of what it does, she pledged to continue working to build the community it deserves. When she became president, she said she considered herself blessed by the opportunity to serve people from around the world who saw in her presidency a vision for it affirming their sense of belonging. To all of these people, she said these doors remain open and will make it stronger and better. As people welcome a new year and new semester, she said she hopes they can look forward to brighter days. While she was sad to be sending this message, she acknowledged her hopes for Harvard remain undimmed. When her presidency is remembered, Gay said she hopes it “will be seen as a moment of reawakening to the importance of striving to find our common humanity — and of not allowing rancour and vituperation to undermine the vital process of education.” “I trust we will all find ways, in this time of intense challenge and controversy, to recommit ourselves to the excellence, the openness and the independence that are crucial to what our university stands for — and to our capacity to serve the world,” she said. Harvard lost $1 billion in donations on December 12, as Harvard Corporation Board members stood behind Gay after her refusal to condemn calls for the genocide of Jews on campus. READ MORE: Harvard ‘unanimously’ supports president Gay despite $1B loss in donationsPershing Square Capital Management CEO Bill Ackman wrote a letter to the Harvard Corporation Board to warn that her failures “have led to billions of dollars of withdrawn donations to the university.” “I am personally aware of more than a billion dollars of terminated donations from a small group of Harvard's most generous Jewish and non-Jewish alumni,” said Ackman.
