Harvard President Claudine Gay Faces Additional Corrections and Widening House Probe

Harvard President Claudine Gay is facing further scrutiny as she requested additional corrections to her past work, and a House committee expanded its investigation into allegations of plagiarism at Harvard University.

Harvard Reviews Gay’s Academic Work

In response to the allegations, Harvard University conducted a review of Gay’s academic work. The university spokesperson stated that Gay plans to update her 1997 PhD dissertation to address additional instances of inadequate citation. However, Harvard did not classify these mistakes as plagiarism or a punishable offense under its research misconduct rules.

The new corrections come after Gay issued previous corrections to two scholarly articles she wrote in the 2000s. However, a review by CNN found that these corrections did not address clear examples of plagiarism from her earlier academic work, including her dissertation.

Expanding Plagiarism Investigation

The US House Committee on Education and the Workforce has expanded its existing probe to include allegations of plagiarism against Gay. The committee is reviewing Harvard University’s handling of these allegations over a 24-year period. Committee Chair Virginia Foxx expressed concern over the allegations, stating that plagiarism by a top school official at Harvard raises significant concerns due to the university’s reputation as a top educational institution.

The plagiarism charges against Gay were initially circulated by conservative activists and later reported by the Washington Free Beacon. These allegations followed Gay’s congressional testimony about antisemitism on Harvard’s campus.

Harvard’s Response and Request for Documents

Harvard maintains that Gay’s inadequate citations do not constitute research misconduct. The university’s review of Gay’s work followed its Interim Policy and Procedures for Responding to Allegations of Research Misconduct, which outlines the criteria for misconduct.

In response to the widening probe, Foxx requested a written response from Harvard by December 29. She also requested several documents related to plagiarism and the university’s independent review. Additionally, Foxx asked for a list of any disciplinary actions taken against Harvard faculty or students for academic integrity violations or plagiarism since 2019.

In a previous statement, Gay defended the integrity of her scholarship and emphasized her commitment to adhering to the highest academic standards throughout her career.

Overall, the allegations against Gay have prompted further investigations and raised questions about academic integrity at Harvard University.