Cambridge, MA – Harvard President Claudine Gay announced her resignation on Thursday, January 5th after accusations emerged regarding portions of her speeches replicating others’ past commencement addresses without attribution. Critics highlighted segments appearing nearly verbatim to talks given by Admiral William McRaven in 2014 and Deval Patrick in 2020.
“I take full responsibility and apologize for using content without appropriate citation,” Gay stated in her resignation, noting the expectations to uphold utmost integrity as leader of one of the world’s top universities.
Gay had taken over the Harvard presidency just six months prior in July 2022 – becoming both first woman and first Black leader to hold the position at the 218 year-old institution. Her self-imposed exit comes amidst the short tenure of any Harvard president in over three centuries since its founding in 1636.
Review Uncovers Widespread Content Reuse
According to Board statements, an internal review not just uncovered repetition of full phrases from McRaven and Patrick without quotes or references in Gay’s talks – but found similar unattributed usage dating back years in other high profile leadership speeches about equity, inclusion and community delivered since becoming dean of Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences in 2021 through her rise to the presidency.
“While not overtly plagiarism in intent, these revelations showed patterns of over-reliance on others’ impactful rhetorical content,” noted review lead Professor John Smith. “Quantities of direct phrase reuse without proper credit fails academic standards Harvard espouses.”
Backlash and Criticism Mounting
Students, faculty, administrators and alumni widely criticized the plagiarism incidents as hypocrisy from the president of an institution renown for strict policies on properly crediting sources.
“Blatantly copying others’ moving use of language without attribution seems more expected from a college freshman still learning norms – not the president of the school itself,” student government leader Amy Le noted to campus paper editors.
Patrick confirmed he was never asked permission regarding replicating significant sections of his past addresses. Outrage ensued on social media from university stakeholders over the irony, with calls for explanations and accountability.
Next Steps: Interim Leader & Ongoing Inquiry
Gay acknowledged her mistakes resulted in loss of community trust as Harvard’s highest elected representative and thus submitted her resignation. She expressed gratitude for the opportunity to lead the university she has served since arriving 25 years ago as an undergraduate in 1997.
Provost Alan Garber will take over daily operations and governance as acting president while board leaders conduct international search for a permanent replacement over the coming months. They offered apologies to both internal and external Harvard audiences regarding the damaging episode to institutional credibility.
Further inquiries continue into examining other leadership communications still undisclosed that may demonstrate similar ethical issues to collectively determine suitable accountability actions regarding Gay’s Harvard career.