On Wednesday, Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) sent a letter to Harvard Corporation Senior Fellow Penny Pritzker demanding more information about the university’s handling of plagiarism allegations against President Claudine Gay and the unequal application of Harvard’s Honor Code.
In the letter, Foxx writes: “The House Committee on Education and the Workforce (Committee) has begun a review of Harvard University’s (Harvard) handling of credible allegations of plagiarism by President Claudine Gay over a period of 24 years. An allegation of plagiarism by a top school official at any university would be reason for concern, but Harvard is not just any university. It styles itself as one of the top educational institutions in the country.”
Foxx continues: “Our concern is that standards are not being applied consistently, resulting in different rules for different members of the academic community. If a university is willing to look the other way and not hold faculty accountable for engaging in academically dishonest behavior, it cheapens its mission and the value of its education. Students must be evaluated fairly, under known standards – and have a right to see that faculty are, too.”
Foxx concludes by requesting:
- All documents and communications concerning the initial allegations of plagiarism and the “independent review” of President Claudine Gay’s scholarship described in the December 12, 2023, email to Harvard alumni and students.
- All documents and communications concerning allegations of plagiarism by President Gay and the University’s public response to media inquiries about those allegations.
- A list of any disciplinary actions taken against Harvard faculty or students on the basis of academic integrity violations, research misconduct, inadequate citation, or other forms of plagiarism, from January 1, 2019, to present.
- Any non-public guidelines or policies governing the university’s process for reviewing and adjudicating allegations of plagiarism.
- Any and all communications between Harvard and its regional accreditor regarding its academic dishonesty standard.
Read the full letter here.
