Conservative attacks on higher education led to the resignation of Harvard’s President, Claudine Gay, following allegations of plagiarism. Gay announced her resignation amid mounting accusations that she lifted language from other scholars in her doctoral dissertation and journal articles. Although the allegations did not come from her academic peers, but instead her political foes, led by conservatives who sought to oust her due to her race and gender, claiming she only obtained the position because she is a Black woman.
Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist, celebrated Gay’s departure as a win in his campaign against elite institutions of higher education. He has vowed to “expose the rot in the Ivy League and restore truth, rather than racialist ideology, as the highest principle in academic life.”
The campaign against Gay is part of a broader right-wing effort to remake higher education, in which critics have sought to limit diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives on college campuses. The campaign led to a review of Gay’s academic citations, finding multiple shortcomings. However, her defenders argue that in specialized fields, scholars often use similar language to describe the same concepts and the tool used to detect plagiarism can be dangerous in the wrong hands.
Despite the findings by conservative activists and a Harvard committee, Gay’s defenders argue that instances of alleged plagiarism should be evaluated individually and not as part of a political agenda to pursue personal or political interests. Gay’s departure has raised concerns among university presidents, affecting academic freedom and potentially making them less likely to speak out against inappropriate interference for fear of losing their jobs or being targeted.
In addition to concerns about academic freedom, Gay’s resignation illustrates the ongoing battle between different ideologies in higher education, with conservatives pushing to reshape the landscape of colleges and universities in the United States.