The House Education Committee will begin investigating Harvard’s President Claudine Gay on allegations of plagiarism in her academic work.
The news, confirmed by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) on Dec. 20, comes after Gay faced criticism for her comments regarding antisemitism on campus at a congressional hearing.
According to The Hill, the letter regarding the committee’s intent to investigate the claims states that the educational leader must be held “accountable” for the alleged “academically dishonest behavior,” arguing that the Ivy League Institution does not hold its faculty to the same standard as students.
“Our concern is that standards are not being applied consistently, resulting in different rules for different members of the academic community,” wrote Foxx on behalf of the committee in a letter obtained by Bloomberg. “If a university is willing to look the other way and not hold faculty accountable for engaging in academically dishonest behavior, it cheapens its mission and the value of its education.”
While the investigation comes after Gay was accused of plagiarizing in her written works, Harvard’s governing entity, the Society of Harvard Fellows, found the claims unsubstantial through an independent review in October.
“While the analysis found no violation of Harvard’s standards for research misconduct, President Gay is proactively requesting four corrections in two articles to insert citations and quotation marks that were omitted from the original publications,” shared the fellows reported.
Republican lawmakers urged the university to condemn the alleged antisemitic statements by terminating her position, causing a divide within the school’s community as other institutions involved were encouraged to remove their own leaders as well. Despite the Harvard administration and faculty showcasing their public support of Gay, the newly imposed investigation certainly doesn’t help matters.
The 53-year-old is still quelling the flames following calls from Harvard’s conservative community to remove her as president in response to her words. Gay, Harvard’s first Black woman president, began her role in 2023.
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