Harvard faculty rallies to the aid of university president criticized for remarks on antisemitism

By COLLIN BINKLEY
AP Education Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — As lawmakers and donors push for the ouster of Harvard President Claudine Gay, hundreds of faculty members are urging the university to keep her in command and resist “outside forces” that they view as a threat to the university’s independence. A petition signed by more than 600 faculty members asks the governing body of the Ivy League school to rebuff political pressures it said are at odds with Harvard’s commitment to academic freedom. Only months into her leadership, Gay has found her position in jeopardy after a congressional hearing in which she and two of her peers struggled to answer questions about campus antisemitism.