Ex-Harvard Pres. Breaks Silence; Calls On Universities To Resist

By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

Dr. Claudine Gay, the former president of Harvard, is urging current presidents to refuse to abdicate to demands that imperil their core values.

Gay, who stepped down amid turmoil on Jan. 2, 2024, recently broke her silence and made her remarks in a Sept. 3, 2025 speech at a conference for the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in Amsterdam. Gay said new presidents should quickly find allies within their institutions to help them fight the federal government. The nation’s most prestigious universities must resist, defend and litigate, she said.

“The posture of the institution seems to be one of compliance,” Gay said in her speech, first reported in a Sept. 19 story in The Harvard Crimson, the student newspaper. “This is distressing, not only for those of us who are on campus and facing the consequences directly, but also for all of those in higher ed who look to Harvard for leadership and guidance.”

Numerous high-profile presidents have stepped down in recent months including Gay and Penn’s Liz Magill, who resigned after a public pressure campaign on House antisemitism hearing. At Columbia, two leaders have resigned in recent months: Minouche Shafik and Katrina Armstrong. Cornell’s Michael Kotlikoff stepped down. Yale President Peter Salovey stepped down in June and was replaced by Maurie McInnis in July.

About three months ago, University of Virginia President Jim Ryan, who had served in that capacity since 2018 stepped down in June 2025, due to pressure from the U.S. Department of Justice regarding the university’s diversity, equity, and inclusion practices.

Recently, Harvard University President Alan Garber said he has no intention of complying with Trump’s demands, despite the risk of $9 billion in federal funding. Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber has also signaled he will refuse to capitulate to the administration. Columbia’s interim president has hinted that the university may not be willing to agree to any demands it believes infringes upon its autonomy.

On social media, the current Trump administration said, “Harvard has been hiring almost all woke, Radical Left, idiots and ‘birdbrains’ who are only capable of teaching FAILURE to students and so-called ‘future leaders.’” President Donald Trump wrote on social media, “Harvard is a JOKE, teaches Hate and Stupidity, and should no longer receive Federal Funds.”

But, Harvard’s lawyers recently told the Trump administration, “Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government.”