Harvard President Claudine Gay resigned on Tuesday following weeks of controversy.The school’s provost, Alan M. Garber, will serve as interim president following Gay’s resignation.Here’s what we know about Garber, an economist and physician who has been at Harvard for 12 years.
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Following Harvard President Claudine Gay’s resignation Tuesday, the prestigious university announced its current provost will take on the role of interim president as the search begins for a new leader.
Alan M. Garber, an economist and physician, has served as Harvard’s provost and professor of economics, public policy, and healthcare policy for over 12 years. The university has not yet announced how long it anticipates the search for a new president will take, nor is it clear whether Garber will be considered to replace Gay permanently.
Who is Alan Garber?
Garber was born in 1955 in Illinois, according to a copy of his CV. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard in 1982 and his MD from Stanford in 1983.
He shares four children with his wife, Anne Yahanda, a nonpracticing oncologist, whom he met while completing his residency in internal medicine at Boston’s Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital, according to The Harvard Gazette.
Since joining Harvard’s faculty in 2011, Garber has been involved in Jewish clubs and events on campus, including Harvard Chabad and Hillel.
He has spoken out publicly about the university’s handling of antisemitism on campus following Israel’s declaration of war against Hamas in October.
“I’ve been provost for over 12 years, and in that time, we’ve confronted many crises,” The Harvard Crimson reported Garber said in response to the ongoing controversy regarding Harvard’s handling of antisemitism on campus. “But in my view, none has been as serious for the University as this one — and I’m even including Covid in that.”
A statement released by Harvard Corporation describes Garber, a Harvard alumnus, as “a distinguished and wide-ranging scholar with appointments at Harvard Medical School, Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.”
“We are fortunate to have someone of Alan’s broad and deep experience, incisive judgment, collaborative style, and extraordinary institutional knowledge to carry forward key priorities and to guide the university through this interim period,” Harvard’s statement read.
In higher education, the role of the provost generally serves as a school’s chief academic advisor, overseeing curricular and research initiatives and educational activities university-wide.
Before joining Harvard as provost and professor, Garber worked at Stanford University as a professor of medicine, economics, and health research and policy, according to his staff biography. While at Stanford, he was the staff physician for the Department of Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System and founded and directed Stanford’s Center for Health Policy and the Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research.
Garber did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Why did Claudine Gay resign?
Garber’s interim stint as Harvard President comes after weeks of controversy surrounding the school’s now-former president, Claudine Gay.
Gay resigned Tuesday following sharp criticism of both her personal views regarding antisemitism and allegations that she’d plagiarised some of her scholarly research.
The plagiarism allegations reached a fever pitch following a December 5 congressional hearing in which Gay, as well as University of Pennsylvania President Elizabeth Magill and MIT President Sally Kornbluth, waivered on whether calls for Jewish genocide violated school policy. Magill has since resigned.
During the hearing, Gay stated in response to a pointed line of questioning from New York Rep. Elise Stefanik that calling for a “genocide of Jews” may be a violation of the school’s code of conduct “depending on the context.”
While Gay later apologized for the remarks, she became the subject of significant criticism from Harvardalumsi and donors alike, including billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who made seeking her ouster a personal goal and prompted her resignation.
“It is with a heavy heart but a deep love for Harvard that I write to share that I will be stepping down as president,” Gay wrote in her resignation letter.
She added: “This is not a decision I came to easily. Indeed, it has been difficult beyond words because I have looked forward to working with so many of you to advance the commitment to academic excellence that has propelled this great university across centuries. But, after consultation with members of the Corporation, it has become clear that it is in the best interests of Harvard for me to resign so that our community can navigate this moment of extraordinary challenge with a focus on the institution rather than any individual.”
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