Harvard President Claudine Gay has resigned after a disastrous, brief tenure at as head of the prestigious university.
In an email to colleagues today, she wrote that she was standing down after 'consultation' with the school's board, which has been under pressure to replace her after defending her congressional testimony about campus antisemitism.
She failed to acknowledge where she went wrong - making no mention of her refusal to condemn antisemitism as harassment at a December 5 congressional hearing or the mounting claims of plagiarism against her - but said she had been the victim of racist threats.
'It has become clear that it is in the best interests of Harvard for me to resign so that our community can navigate this moment of extraordinary challenge with a focus on the institution rather than any individual,' Gay wrote.
She said it had been 'frightening' to find herself the target of threats, and 'distressing' to have her character questioned.
