Published December 24, 2023
Harvard University has come under fire amid revelations it sought to thwart The Post’s investigation of Claudine Gay’s alleged plagiarism and cleared her of such accusations before even conducting an investigation.
Rep. Jim Banks, (R-Ind.) who sits on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, which has been scrutinizing the Ivy League school, called the aggressive attempt to suppress The Post’s investigation “shameful.”
“Harvard has been terrified of losing donations and taxpayer funding since they were exposed for harboring antisemitism,” he told The Post.
“Claudine Gay claimed to support free speech and truthful inquiry in her congressional testimony, but now the university is threatening journalists and lying to protect its reputation and over $50 billion endowment.”
A law firm representing the elite university sent The Post a threatening legal letter in late October, dubbing accusations that Gay plagiarized from other academics “demonstrably false” and insisting that her work was “cited and properly credited.”
It threatened to sue The Post for “immense” damages and insisted that The Post’s reporting “must not be published.”
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SOURCE: www.nypost.com
RELATED: Claudine Gay Turmoil Forces Harvard’s Secretive ‘Corporation’ Into Spotlight
Harvard’s powerful board has backed its president and said little else, yet a member privately said “generational change” may be needed.
The campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.Credit…Christopher Capozziello for The New York Times
Published December 24, 2023
On Tuesday, the day before Harvard acknowledged more problems with its president’s scholarly work, two members of its governing body sat in a private dining room at Bar Enza, a popular Cambridge restaurant, and faced a grilling.
It was an exceedingly rare opportunity for a small group of prominent academics to speak directly to members of the reclusive board in charge of the school, as it endured a turbulent period. The campus was convulsed by demands for the resignation of Harvard’s president, Claudine Gay, after allegations of plagiarism and anger over her handling of antisemitism and threats to Jewish students, which spurred a donor revolt.
The two board members, the nonprofit founder Tracy Palandjian and the private-equity executive Paul Finnegan, were told directly that they had to do more to address the ongoing maelstrom consuming the campus.
“You need to be more out front of this,” Jeff Flier, the former dean of Harvard Medical School, recalled telling them. “If people are saying the university is making mistakes — they are talking about you!”
The secretive, powerful group that runs Harvard, known as the Harvard Corporation, has projected unity amid the unyielding turmoil around Dr. Gay. The board’s Dec. 12 announcement to stand by Dr. Gay, who is also a member, was followed by silence, even in the wake of rising demands for her removal by powerful donors, alumni and media figures.
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SOURCE: www.nytimes.com
RELATED: Uh Oh: Billionaire Len Blavatnik Stops Donations to Harvard Amid Ongoing Campus Antisemitism
Published December 23, 2023
Antisemitism continues to be a problem on campus, as we discussed here. University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill resigned after embarrassing testimony before Congress and losing hundreds of millions in donations to her institution.
So far, Harvard has stood by its president — Claudine Gay — despite not only the antisemitism, but significant plagiarism.
But money talks, and continuing to lose donors may be enough to push Gay out of office.
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SOURCE: www.twitchy.com
