Explosive claims about Harvard University president Claudine Gay

Explosive allegations have emerged that the president of an elite Ivy League school plagarised throughout her academic career in a case that has captivated America. 

Claudine Gay, 53, is Harvard’s first black president and only the second woman in the role.

She assumed the position earlier this year.

Her leadership has come under intense scrutiny in the last few weeks after her handling of an antisemitism crisis on campus. 

She struggled to answer questions about anti-Jewish hate at Harvard during a congressional hearing this month. 

Soon after the hearing, conservative activists Christopher Rufo and Aaron Sibarium accused Ms Gay of plagiarizing sections of her PhD dissertation and three other publications between 1993 and 2017

Harvard said it had investigated claims of plagiarism and found Ms Gay had not violated university standards.

However, it did find “a few instances of inadequate citation”. 

It later said that a recent review uncovered more “examples of duplicative language without appropriate attribution” in Gray’s 1997 doctoral dissertation, according to theBoston Globe, which obtained a summary of the report.

New damning allegations

Now the Free Beacon, a privately owned, for-profit conservative online newspaper, has revealed a complaint outlining more than 40 allegations.

She is accused of quoting or paraphrasing authors without proper attribution in violation of the university’s policies. 

The publication said it had independently verified the allegations as well as the identity of the complainant, said to be a professor at another university who wishes to remain anonymous. 

Ms Gay previously defended her academic work when the allegations started mounting.

“I stand by the integrity of my scholarship,” she told the Boston Globe earlier this month. “Throughout my career, I have worked to ensure my scholarship adheres to the highest academic standards.”

Who is Claudine Gay?

Ms Gay is an American political scientist and academic administrator who is the 30th president of Harvard University.

A political scientist, her research adddresses American political behaviour, including voter turnout and politics of race and identity. 

Ms Gay’s role as university president came to international attention following the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel when she was accused of not responding to antisemitism on campus and of not adequately condemning the attacks.

But Harvard University is continuing to support its president.

In a statement last week , the Harvard Corporation stated that in “this tumultuous and difficult time, we unanimously stand in support of President Gay”.