From the start of her Presidency, Claudine Gay’s critics have cast aspersions on her qualifications to hold the position as Harvard’s first Black and second female president. 2024 Republican Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy ’07 compared her to other Harvard faculty, stating on X that “Harvard Prof Roland Fryer published more in a single year than Gay did in her entire career.” The more than 40 alleged plagiarism allegations that had been recently discovered may have also tainted her credibility. Now, her resignation has opened up a larger, dangerous conversation regarding her race, especially amongst those who were initially critical of Gay’s appointment.
Despite Gay’s impressive academic record—11 academic articles, former Dean of Social Science for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, professor of Government and of African-American Studies at Harvard University, and degrees from Princeton, Stanford, and Harvard—Claudine Gay’s appointment and subsequent departure have been simplified to her being a “diversity hire,” appointed by Harvard because she met “DEI criteria.” Implying Gay was only hired because of her race strips away from the accomplishments and credibility that put her into the position as President in the first place, and paints a negative picture of the purpose of DEI and diversity hiring practices.
Gay’s appointment came from the product of a months-long search of over 600 candidates. Her race should be celebrated, not weaponized against her. Additionally, blaming Harvard’s faults on the existence of these policies uses them as a scapegoat without addressing other, pressing issues. DEI policies are not something to be condemned, as diversity hiring and DEI strategies are in place to diversify communities and ensure spaces such as workplaces and campuses are representative of all backgrounds.
Critics of DEI have used the backlash Harvard has been facing alongside Gay’s resignation to justify their argument. However, they fail to recognize the repercussions this dialogue has on minorities. “This racist rhetoric strips opportunities away from minorities, specifically Black people, because it doesn’t allow for their work, their education, their livelihood and them simply existing to be taken seriously,” explained Helena Jackson ’27.
“This is the beginning of the end for DEI in America’s institutions,” said Christopher Rufo on X, a conservative activist who spearheaded the plagiarism allegations against Gay. Following Gay’s resignation, Bill Ackman ’88, American billionaire and vocal Harvard critic, posted, “The Harvard board should not have run a search process which had a predetermined objective of only hiring a DEI-approved candidate.” Ackman additionally called for the abolishment of Harvard’s Office for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (OEDIB).
“The world will find quite any way to legitimize that people of color are never enough. No matter what we do and how we achieve that—matter of fact is that these systems don’t want us in high spaces,” said Kyla Golding ’24. “Calling this a DEI hire is classic, it’s the blueprint of reminding everyone who she might inspire to try and achieve the same that we’re not welcome. And if we do it, they’ll find every reason to push us out or force us to feel like we shouldn’t. The rhetoric is dangerous because it doesn’t allow the roots of progress for people of color to grow.”
Jackson is tired of “constantly being viewed as someone who was only accepted, hired, or promoted only because of their skin color.” She feels that disregarding the overall reasons why one was hired, and additionally overlooking how “skin color actually can tell a whole life story; socioeconomic background, discrepancies with better education, [and] not having the same opportunities as those with privilege but still prevailing,” is a tactic that limits a diverse candidate to their race without acknowledging their successes; meanwhile, a white candidate would not be subject to the same characterization.
In the case of Gay, her missteps as President, which she has acknowledged, have been accredited by some of her critics to be due to her race. “It’s very concerning to see that a Black individual can not be held to certain accountability without their race taken into consideration and their race being the primary source of the ‘arguments,’” Jackson said. “Why is it that Claudine Gay was criticized in a very brutal manner, but her being Black was part of why many viewed her as not qualified for the role as Harvard’s president?”
No one could have predicted what Harvard and the world would have gone through these past few months. Gay had been faced with monumental challenges that oftentimes had no right way of dealing with them. Yes, allegations of plagiarism and poor public testimonies should be taken seriously, but to say that all of her criticisms came out of good faith would be naive. Gay’s decision to resign came from a strenuous three months of both poor decision-making and unwarranted attacks. “I can imagine that when your life’s on the line that her dreams for the University still took precedence,” said Golding.
Gay’s resignation should not be used as a tool to attack DEI. Doing so is a hazardous tactic that limits the probability of diverse candidates ever holding top leadership positions at Harvard without being subject to the same unusual punishment that Gay was. “[It] creates possibly a dangerous future for Harvard’s presidency as we’ve now seen that a person of color was not given the opportunity to serve as Harvard’s president without so much negativity and racist rhetoric being spread throughout the time Claudine Gay was serving,” explained Jackson.
These challenging times should be a learning lesson, and in no way be seen as a “win.” We cannot allow ourselves to fall into the traps of those manipulating the story of Claudine Gay into the call for an abolishment of DEI. Especially with the overturning of affirmative action, it is important now more than ever to protect the future of diverse representation in higher education. DEI promotes inclusivity and strength within institutions like Harvard and should be upheld to continue to promote equitable and safe environments for people of all identities, providing an equal opportunity for representation and success no matter your background. “Equity is critical to making sure that historical legacies don’t cloud the fact that in diverse communities the potential, talent, determination, and exceptionality exists in plethora,” said Golding.
Claudine Gay led Harvard through one of the most difficult times in its recent history. Though her tenure as Harvard’s President was short, she has cemented her place in its history as a trailblazer. Her downfall should not be blamed on DEI, which promotes inclusion and equal opportunity, but due to a system that hoped she’d fail from the get-go.
Layla Chaaraoui ’26 (laylachaaraoui@college.harvard.edu) writes Forum for the Independent.