Claudine Gay resigns: a timeline of Harvard’s shortest presidential tenure

Harvard President Claudine Gay resigned Tuesday amid multiple controversies, setting a record for the shortest-lived presidency at the storied university.  

She was appointed back in July and saw only a brief period of peace before October brought multiple controversies that eventually cost her the job, including accusations of plagiarism and the fallout from a disastrous House hearing on campus antisemitism. 

“It is with a heavy heart but a deep love for Harvard that I write to share that I will be stepping down as president,” Gay said in the statement. “This is not a decision I came to easily.”  

After discussing it with the school’s governing board, the Harvard Corporation, Gay said, “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.”