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Harvard president Dr. Claudine Gay<\/strong><\/a> announced on Tuesday that she will resign from her post at the university. \u201cIt is with a heavy heart but a deep love for Harvard that I write to share that I will be stepping down as president,\u201d she wrote<\/a> in a letter to the community. One of three university presidents who came under fire last month for not unequivocally saying<\/a> \u201cyes\u201d when asked at a congressional hearing whether \u201ccalling for the genocide of Jews\u201d violated school rules or codes of conduct, Gay seems to have had her hand forced over new allegations of plagiarism.<\/p>\n Following the blowback from her comments at the hearing on Capitol Hill, where she appeared alongside the presidents of the University of Pennsylvania and MIT, who gave similar answers,* Gay received the public backing of Harvard\u2019s governing board, whose members said<\/a>, \u201cIn this tumultuous and difficult time, we unanimously stand in support of President Gay.\u201d (Before that, Gay apologized<\/a> during an interview with The Harvard Crimson.<\/em>) In the statement, the board noted that it was aware of claims of plagiarism against Gay and that a review had concluded she had not violated the school\u2019s standards for \u201cresearch misconduct\u201d; it added that \u201ca few instances of inadequate citation\u201d had emerged, for which Gay would request four corrections.<\/p>\n But over the ensuing weeks, more allegations of plagiarism emerged, as did findings by the university. Per The New York Times<\/em><\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n >The latest accusations against Dr. Gay were circulated through an unsigned complaint\u00a0published\u00a0Monday in The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative online journal that has led a campaign against Dr. Gay over the past few weeks. The new\u00a0complaint\u00a0added additional accusations of plagiarism to about 40 that had already been circulated in the same way, apparently by the same accuser.<\/p>\n In her letter, Gay did not use the word plagiarism<\/em> or specifically mention the hearing on Capitol Hill. But she referenced both, writing: \u201cMy deep sense of connection to Harvard and its people has made it all the more painful to witness the tensions and divisions that have riven our community in recent months, weakening the bonds of trust and reciprocity that should be our sources of strength and support in times of crisis. Amidst all of this, it has been distressing to have doubt cast on my commitments to confronting hate and to upholding scholarly rigor\u2014two bedrock values that are fundamental to who I am\u2014and frightening to be subjected to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus.\u201d<\/p>\n