Updated: December 10, 2023, at 3:36 pm
The Harvard Corporation and Board of Overseers — the university’s governing bodies — gathered on campus Sunday for a regularly scheduled meeting, which escalated five days after his congressional testimony.
In between board meetings, Harvard Corporation Senior Fellow Benny S. Pritzker ’81 did not respond to repeated questions from The Crimson Sunday afternoon about whether he would ask Kay to step down from a reporter.
Pritzker, who was on campus for a board meeting, was joined by another member of the corporation, Shirley M. Tilghman also ignored questions as he entered a vehicle.
While the meeting of the Corporation and the Board of Supervisors follows their regular schedule, the context in which the meeting is held is not unusual.
During a hearing before the House Committee on Education and Personnel, K-fellow witnesses University of Pennsylvania President Elizabeth Magill and MIT President Sally A. With Kornbluth – Rep. Elise M. Stefanik ’06 (RN) declined to answer the question directly. .Y.) about whether calls for Jewish genocide violate Harvard’s policies on bullying and harassment.
The exchange with Stefanik went viral, prompting Magill to resign on Saturday amid backlash and pressure from Uben’s board of trustees.
Kay, who previously faced only a few isolated calls to resign as president, has come under increasing pressure to step down. On Friday, more than 70 members of Congress — including two Democrats — signed a letter to the Harvard administration calling for Kay’s resignation.
The boards are expected to discuss the backlash to Kay’s testimony and decide whether to issue a public statement in support of the president who chose him to lead Harvard a year ago.
Although the Corporation remained silent on the future of Kay’s tenure, Harvard faculty members expressed support for Kay in large numbers.
This story will be updated.
—Staff writer Miles J. Herszenhorn can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @mherszenhorn or in texts @mileshersz.
Staff writer Claire Yuan can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @claireyuan33.