‘They were concerned it would look like...’: Bill Ackman on why Harvard board didn't sack Claudine Gay

Under fire for her comments she made to the Congress about antisemitism on campus, Harvard President Claudine Gay won’t resign despite the mounting pressure after Harvard board publicly announced their support for her and more than 500 faculty members came to her defence in several open letters. In a post on X, Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who has donated millions to Harvard and has been very vocal against Gay, also confirmed the development. “From a source I trust: Claudine Gay will not resign and the governing boards decided not to terminate her as president of @Harvard,” he wrote.

From a source I trust:

Claudine Gay will not resign and the governing boards decided not to terminate her as president of @Harvard.

— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) December 12, 2023

In another post, Ackman said, “I have been told now by two reporters that one of the factors that made it challenging for the @Harvard board to fire Gay was that they were concerned it would look like they were kowtowing to me."

I have been told now by two reporters that one of the factors that made it challenging for the @Harvard board to fire Gay was that they were concerned it would look like they were kowtowing to me. https://t.co/QrgFHUVEJh

— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) December 12, 2023

An open letter in support of Professor Gay, signed by over 500 current faculty members, urged the university’s board not to remove her from her position. Additionally, the 13-member Harvard Alumni Association Executive Committee has unanimously expressed support, as reported by university’s paper The Harvard Crimson. Professor Gay faced significant backlash after her testimony to Congress on 5 December during a hearing addressing antisemitism on campus. In response to a pointed question from New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, she suggested that calling for a “genocide of Jews” might violate the school’s code of conduct, depending on the context. The Harvard president, alongside former University of Pennsylvania President Elizabeth Magill and MIT President Sally Kornbluth, participated in the hearing and faced criticism for their remarks. Magill has since resigned. Professor Gay has apologised for her statements, acknowledging that she became caught up in a combative exchange about policies and procedures during the hearing. She expressed regret for not emphasising her commitment to opposing calls for violence against the Jewish community at Harvard. “What I should have had the presence of mind to do in that moment was return to my guiding truth, which is that calls for violence against our Jewish community — threats to our Jewish students — have no place at Harvard, and will never go unchallenged,” she added. With inputs from agencies