Harvard Finds More Instances of ‘Duplicative Language’ in President’s Work

Harvard University, in the face of mounting questions over possible plagiarism in the scholarly work of its president, Claudine Gay, said on Wednesday that it had found two additional instances of her failing to properly credit other scholars.

The news was an embarrassing development for the university, which has sought to quell tumult over Dr. Gay’s leadership in recent weeks.

The new issues were found in Dr. Gay’s 1997 doctoral dissertation, in which Harvard said it had found two examples of “duplicative language without appropriate attribution.” Last week, Harvard said that an earlier review had found two published articles that needed additional citations, and that Dr. Gay would request corrections.

“President Gay will update her dissertation correcting these instances of inadequate citation,” the university said on Wednesday.

More than a week ago, Dr. Gay seemed to survive concerns about her response to the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and charges of antisemitism on campus, only to be faced with criticism of her scholarship.

Wednesday’s news raises questions about the process by which the Harvard board, known as the corporation, has handled plagiarism allegations against Dr. Gay, and whether they have been overly lenient with her.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.