Commonwealth Policy Center

Claudine Gay resigned as President of Harvard University after serving only six months on the job. It’s the shortest tenure in the university’s history. Gay came under fire after she refused to clearly condemn antisemitic protests on campus. She also plagiarized in many of her writings. Both scandals demonstrate shocking moral failures by the leader of one of America’s most storied institutions. Many university presidents have lacked courage to stand against ugly antisemitic protests that calls for genocide. The lesson with Gay’s resignation is that there is a cost when leaders in higher education fail to speak with moral clarity to genocide and the harassment of their students. Perhaps other leaders will learn from this and find their courage and leadership when their voice and moral clarity is needed most.