A Harvard history professor has compared the college to a medieval dictatorship in its handling of the Claudine Gay plagiarism scandal – saying the Ivy League school needs a “reset.”
In an op-ed for The Wall Street JournalJames Hankins explained that the value of modern research universities depends on the academic integrity of those institutions and the ability to honestly reflect on mistakes.
Those who dismiss the recent plagiarism charges against President Gay are undermining the “project of improving human life through research and science,” he wrote.
Hankins emphasized how students at medieval universities would simply be taught generally accepted facts and expected to memorize them – with scholars not allowed to challenge the status quo. He seemed to suggest that the current state of affairs at Harvard over the gay scandal now resembles a learning institution from the Middle Ages.
“What worries me is that the public discussion to date has not sufficiently appreciated how serious academic honesty is in research institutions,” he said, adding, however, that it may well be the case that Gay eventually “ is fired'. or asked to resign.”
Harvard history professor James Hankins wrote in the WSJ that the school needs to be more serious about academic honesty as the president faces plagiarism allegations
President Claudine Gay, who has come under immense fire for her mishandling of anti-Semitism on campus in the aftermath of October 7, has recently been accused of plagiarism in her academic articles.
Hankins wrote that the main difference between the modern research university model and the model used in medieval education is the blind deference to “authorities.”
Medieval institutions of learning were “built around collections of authorities in philosophy, medicine, law, and theology,” he wrote.
'Lectures consisted of explaining the authorities, memorizing them and applying them to solve practical problems.
'Students were not allowed to think for themselves, because the authorities had proven their worth and deserved respect.'
According to Hankins, the model that modern Harvard seems to embrace has too much in common with the academic world of the Middle Ages.
The mighty Harvard Corp. wrote in a Dec. 12 statement that Gay is the leader they believe is best suited to “address the very serious societal problems we face.”
Gay — the first black woman to lead the college — first sparked anger at a congressional hearing after highlighting free speech concerns over the ban on anti-Semitism.
Critics say the comments ring hollow given Harvard's poor record of protecting free speech. Students have been warned that 'fatphobia' involves violence, as does refusing to use one's preferred pronoun.
The dean was subsequently accused of several cases of plagiarism, after which corrections were made to her scientific publications.
Gay's defense, Hankins wrote, appears to reveal a “shift” in the university's priorities.
“Harvard's mission is no longer simply to advance knowledge, but knowledge 'that will help address deep societal problems and promote constructive discourse,'” he wrote.
'From such a perspective, academic honesty seems to matter less than having the right progressive values, and the refusal to make public underlying data is permissible as long as the conclusions support a favored narrative.'
As accusations of Gay's plagiarism continue to filter through the various channels of Harvard's vast bureaucratic body, Hankins argues that if the university will only “damage our hard-won prestige, lower the value of our degrees and lower the standards necessary for academic excellence will erode' if it doesn't take them seriously.
It is not clear whether Harvard's board will demand her resignation
In the wake of mounting calls for the resignation of President Claudine Gay (pictured), faculty members are now turning the spotlight on the other 11 members of the Harvard Corporation – the Ivy League's powerful governing body that continues to support it.
Meanwhile, Jeffrey Flier, former dean of Harvard Medical School, recently said he had advised several administrators to do more to address the ongoing unrest surrounding the school.
“You have to be more outspoken here,” Flier recalled telling executives as he spoke to management New York Times. 'When people say the university makes mistakes, they are talking about you!'
Professor Kit Parker said the school is facing a fork in the road and board members must resign to choose the right path.
'The big question now is: how arrogant is Harvard?' the professor of bioengineering and applied physics told the WSJ.
“And when I say Harvard, I mean the Harvard Corporation. Do they think this will go away?'
Gay sparked outrage at a congressional hearing earlier this month after she said whether calls for the genocide of Jews at Harvard constituted harassment and violated the rules depended on context.
The president, who has recently denied reports that she is also plagiarizing, first sparked outrage after the Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 people in Israel with lukewarm condemnation of the attack.
She then issued two apologies in which she issued a louder condemnation of Hamas, the Palestinian terror group behind the atrocities.
The Harvard Corporation admitted that it should have condemned Hamas's attack in Israel sooner, but gave its full support for continuing in its role.