Harvard University president Claudine Gay faces further scrutiny over her academic work following accusations of plagiarism and antisemitism.
A 2001 Stanford paper titled “The Effect of Black Congressional Representation on Political Participation” has come under review, with two professors questioning the data method used by Gay, New York Post reports.
Professors Michael C. Herron and Kenneth W. Shotts claimed to debunk the foundation of Gay’s research, finding inconsistencies in her conclusions regarding the impact of black Americans’ election to Congress on political involvement.
The statistical practice known as ecological regression (El-R) was used in Gay’s analysis, and Herron and Shotts, who have criticized El-R in other contexts, noted “logical inconsistencies.” However, they were unable to scrutinize Gay’s results as she refused to share her research with them.
The controversy surrounding Gay also involves accusations of plagiarism in her academic career. Harvard’s governing board is facing calls from faculty to resign due to concerns over the university’s reputation amid the allegations against its president.
In response to the plagiarism accusations, Gay acknowledged failing to properly attribute and quote a source from a 1990 paper, but Harvard denied the plagiarism allegations in a legal letter to The Post. The scrutiny intensified after Gay’s testimony before the House Education Committee, where she faced criticism for evading questions about whether antisemitic chants violated the campus’s code of conduct.
The latest revelations about the 2001 paper add to the challenges facing Gay and raise questions about transparency in research, as she refused to share her dataset for scrutiny. Harvard University and Gay have not responded to requests for comment on the recent allegations and scrutiny surrounding her academic work. The controversy may impact Harvard’s standing, as critics argue that the university’s reputation has suffered a “substantial hit” in light of the allegations against its president.
