In the aftermath of Claudine Gay's resignation, here's how Harvard can reform itself

Harvard President Claudine Gay resigned today after only a six month tenure — the shortest in the university’s history. And while neither Gay’s official resignation letter nor the statement from Harvard’s governing board mention it, the proximate cause certainly seems to be the mounting plagiarism allegations that Gay and Harvard have grappled with for months.

After Gay’s performance during the recent U.S. House of Representatives anti-Semitism hearing and the resulting backlash, FIRE was concerned that obliging calls for Gay’s resignation — along with other university presidents — would be yet another blow to free speech on campus. Had Harvard caved then, it would have sent a message that censorship is the solution to the campus unrest following Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel.

Censorship on campus has been the norm for decades, and administrators will take any excuse to continue down that path — particularly if it means saving their jobs. In fact, then-University of Pennsylvania President Elizabeth Magill sought to stave off criticism of her performance during the House hearing by promising to “initiate a serious and careful look” at Penn’s protections for free speech, which she said had been “guided by the Constitution and the law.” Harvard, which scored dead last on FIRE’s 2024 Free Speech Rankings, could have followed the same path in making its policies even more speech-restrictive. 

Thankfully, that didn’t happen.

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University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill and board chair Scott Bok announced their resignations after McGill said the university should back away from its traditional protection of speech.

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Plagiarism, however, is a legitimate reason to remove a university leader from office, just as it’s a legitimate reason to punish students and faculty. And with nearly 50 allegations to her name, it’s no wonder this controversy ended with Gay’s resignation. FIRE has little to say on the matter beyond insisting that Gay receive due process, including an opportunity to plead her case, which by all accounts, she has. In fact, Harvard went above and beyond in initially defending Gay, including by having its legal representatives send a threatening letter to The New York Post for its coverage of the matter — a move sadly in character for America's worst college for free speech, and an ominous omen that Harvard does not intend to improve its censorial ways.

Still, this is yet another opportunity for Harvard to turn things around under new leadership, and FIRE is more than happy to help. 

Many of our advisors and directors have Harvard affiliations, including FIRE co-founder Harvey Silverglate and Harvard President Emeritus Lawrence H. Summers. We have a vested interest in seeing the country’s most prestigious university become a leader for free speech and academic freedom. For instance, we sent a letter to Claudine Gay early in her tenure as president, hoping to collaborate on establishing a robust campus climate for free speech and open inquiry. Our offer remains for Harvard’s future leadership: It’s never too late to commit to a culture of free speech on campus, and to change Harvard’s policies to reflect that commitment. 

There are plenty of ways to do it.

As Harvard looks to its future, it should consider its past. Without a substantial university-wide change to its approach to free speech and academic freedom on campus, Harvard’s next president will struggle to restore the university’s reputation as a leader in academic excellence.

Last month FIRE released 10 common-sense reforms colleges and universities can make to re-establish their institutions as communities devoted to the discovery, preservation, and dissemination of knowledge. These include protecting free speech in policy and practice, teaching students a scholarly mindset from day one, and cutting administrative bloat. At Harvard, there are 1.35 administrators for every one student. Massive administrative bureaucracies are huge drivers of campus censorship.

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As confidence in higher education reaches historic lows, now is the time for campus leaders to return to first principles and re-establish their institutions as communities devoted to the discovery, preservation, and dissemination of knowledge.

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FIRE Advisory Council member and Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard Steven Pinker has also proposed an excellent five-point plan that shares many similarities with FIRE’s suggested reforms. Pinker recommends that Harvard commit to free speech, institutional neutrality, nonviolence, viewpoint diversity, and disempowering DEI.

Additionally, a group of academics at the University of Pennsylvania (which, by the way, is second only to Harvard at the bottom of FIRE’s Free Speech Rankings) drafted a compelling new constitution for their institution, emphasizing similar principles to FIRE’s and Pinker’s plans.

If Harvard is looking for a template, they needn’t look far.

As Harvard looks to its future, it should consider its past. Without a substantial university-wide change to its approach to free speech and academic freedom on campus, Harvard’s next president will struggle to restore the university’s reputation as a leader in academic excellence.

Here’s to hoping Harvard and its next leader make the right decisions moving forward.