Bill Ackman says Harvard board resisted firing university president to avoid appearance of ‘kowtowing’ to him

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman said Monday night that Harvard’s governing board was reluctant to fire University President Claudine Gay following her controversial comments before Congress about the rise in antisemitism on campus over concerns it would appear they were conceding to him.

Ackman, a Harvard alumnus who has been critical of the university’s response to antisemitic behavior on campus, said reporters informed him that one of the board’s reasons for not firing Gay was that they did not want the public to suspect they were “kowtowing” to him.

“I have been told now by two reporters that one of the factors that made it challenging for the @Harvard board to fire Gay was that they were concerned it would look like they were kowtowing to me,” Ackman wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“In other words, the reporters explained, quoting the trustees: ‘Had Bill just stopped tweeting, we would have come to the right answer.’ So much for Veritas,” he continued.

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During last week’s hearing before the House Education and the Workforce Committee, House GOP Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., demanded Gay, University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill and MIT President Sally Kornbluth answer whether calls on campus for intifada, or the genocide of Jews, violated their respective universities’ codes of conduct or rules against bullying and harassment. 

Magill resigned on Saturday amid backlash over her statements at the hearing.

“It can be, depending on the context,” Gay responded, prompting Stefanik to press her for a yes or no answer.

“Antisemitic speech when it crosses into conduct that amounts to bullying, harassment, intimidation — that is actionable conduct, and we do take action,” Gay said.

Stefanik asked, “So the answer is yes, that calling for the genocide of Jews violates Harvard’s code of conduct, correct?”

“Again, it depends on the context,” Gay replied.

Gay apologized for her comments in a statement released after the hearing.

“I got caught up in what had become at that point, an extended, combative exchange about policies and procedures,” Gay said. “What I should have had the presence of mind to do in that moment was return to my guiding truth, which is that calls for violence against our Jewish community — threats to our Jewish students — have no place at Harvard and will never go unchallenged. Substantively, I failed to convey what is my truth.”

Ackman sent a letter to the Harvard governing board on Sunday, in which he argued that Gay failing to condemn Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack against Israel or the since-deleted letter signed by more than 30 Harvard student groups blaming the Jewish State for the attack led to a rise in antisemitism on campus.

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“Because of her failure to condemn the most vile and barbaric terrorism the world has ever seen, for supporting rather than condemning 34 Harvard-branded student organizations who hold Israel ‘entirely responsible’ for Hamas’ barbaric acts, for failing to enforce Harvard’s own rules on student conduct, and for her other failures of leadership, President Gay catalyzed an explosion of antisemitism and hate on campus that is unprecedented in Harvard’s history,” he wrote.

X owner Elon Musk replied to Ackman’s Monday post on X, writing that his letter was “simply articulated, with great clarity, the severe concerns held by many.”

Musk also responded to a separate post from a writer that said, “Harvard has chosen race and gender over academic integrity. A disaster for the institution,” in response to Ackman’s announcement that Gay will not be fired.

“Shame on the board. They all need to go,” Musk replied.

Despite the intense backlash, others have expressed support for Gay following her congressional testimony.

More than 500 Harvard faculty members signed a letter sent to the governing board on Sunday supporting Gay amid calls for her termination. The Harvard Alumni Association Executive Committee and Harvard’s Black Alumni & Allies also each wrote separate letters on Monday offering “unequivocal support” for the university’s president.