Harvard University's highest governing body announced its unanimous support for embattled school President Claudine Gay, who will remain in office despite her controversial comments to a congressional committee about antisemitism.
"As members of the Harvard Corporation, we today reaffirm our support for President Gay's continued leadership of Harvard University," the statement from the Harvard Corporation said, according to CNN. "Our extensive deliberations affirm our confidence that President Gay is the right leader to help our community heal and to address the very serious societal issues we are facing."
The Harvard Crimson, the school's student newspaper, said Gay had faced backlash and demands for her resignation after her testimony before the House Committee on Education and the Workplace, in which she had a tense exchange with Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y.
"At Harvard, does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard's rules of bullying and harassment?" Stefanik asked.
"It can be, depending on the context," Gay said.
Stefanik pressed Gay for a "yes or no" answer about whether calls for the genocide of Jews constitute a violation of Harvard's policies.
"Antisemitic speech, when it crosses into conduct that amounts to bullying, harassment, intimidation — that is actionable conduct and we do take action," Gay said.
While Gay later insisted her comments were misconstrued, she apologized for her remarks.
The firestorm, created by the testimony of Gay, University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill, and MIT President Sally Kornbluth, led to Magill's resignation.
More than 70 members of Congress from both political parties on Friday released a letter asking for Gay, Magill, and Kornbluth to resign, and the White House condemned their remarks.
The Crimson noted the outpouring of support for Gay from alumni and faculty.
The executive committee of the Harvard Alumni Association on Monday asked the university's two governing boards in a letter to publicly back Gay. The letter, signed by all 13 members of the executive committee, came on the same day the Harvard Corporation and the board of overseers reportedly met to decide Gay's fate.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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