Harvard University has released new details regarding the plagiarism accusations against former president Claudine Gay. In a recent letter to a congressional committee, Harvard disclosed that an independent body recommended a broader review of the allegations after substantiating some of the complaints.

The university stated that it became aware of the plagiarism claims against its first Black female president on October 24, 2022, after being contacted by a reporter from the New York Post. Harvard then reached out to several authors whom Gay was accused of plagiarizing, and none expressed objections to her language, according to their statement.

To address the accusations, Harvard appointed an independent panel, which specifically examined two articles by Gay published in 2012 and 2017. The panel concluded that both articles were "sophisticated and original," finding little evidence of intentional claiming of others' findings as her own.

However, the panel did identify nine out of the 25 allegations raised by the New York Post as being of concern. It found instances where Gay had paraphrased or reproduced language from others without appropriate quotation marks or sufficient crediting of sources. Additionally, the panel noted one case where Gay's use of language could be interpreted as taking credit for another academic's work, although there was no evidence to suggest this was her intention.

The investigation also revealed that Gay's paper from her first year in graduate school contained identical language to that which had been previously published by others.

These findings prompted a broader review of Gay's work by a subcommittee at Harvard. As a result, Gay made corrections to her 2012 article, as well as a 2001 article that came under scrutiny during the review. The subcommittee presented its findings to the Harvard Corporation, the university's governing board, on December 9, 2022. It concluded that Gay's actions did not amount to research misconduct and that her conduct was not reckless or intentional.

The scrutiny of Gay's academic career initially emerged after her congressional testimony about antisemitism on campus. Alongside Liz Magill from the University of Pennsylvania and MIT's president Sally Kornbluth, Gay faced criticism for their responses to New York Rep. Elise Stefanik's question about whether certain speech would violate the colleges' codes of conduct.

Following the hearing, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, led by Republicans, announced an investigation into the policies and disciplinary procedures at Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Initially, the Harvard Corporation stood by Gay, stating that a review of her scholarly work revealed only a few instances of inadequate citation and no evidence of research misconduct. However, further allegations of plagiarism surfaced in December, leading to Gay's resignation from her position as president.

The outcome of the investigation and the subsequent resignation of Claudine Gay mark a significant development in a controversy that has captured national attention. The broader implications for academic integrity and accountability are likely to be further explored as institutions continue to address issues surrounding plagiarism and research misconduct.