Harvard University has been granted an extension of time to respond to a U.S. House of Representatives committee probing the plagiarism carried out by the school’s president.
The House Education Committee had asked Harvard to provide answers about the plagiarism scandal by Dec. 29.
But that deadline has been pushed back, a spokesperson for the panel told news outlets.
“Given the holidays and office closures, we are working with Harvard on a prompt production of documents that takes that into account,” the spokesperson said.
Harvard has not responded to requests for comment on the scandal.
That included using direct language from work from scholars Lawrence Bobo and Franklin Gilliam without putting that language in quotation marks.
Ms. Gay, however, has retained her position and the Harvard Corporation, the university’s top governing body, has said it stands behind her.
“Harvard’s mission is advancing knowledge, research, and discovery that will help address deep societal issues and promote constructive discourse, and we are confident that President Gay will lead Harvard forward toward accomplishing this vital work,” it said in a recent statement.
In a Dec. 20 letter, House Education Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) asked Penny Pritzker, head of the corporation, for all documents and communications concerning the review of Ms. Gay’s papers, including meeting minutes and transcripts.
Ms. Foxx also requested all documents about how the university responded to media inquiries about the plagiarism, communications between Harvard and its accreditor regarding the probe into plagiarism allegations, and a list of disciplinary actions meted out to students or faculty who were caught plagiarizing from Jan. 1, 2019, to the present.
Ms. Foxx noted that Harvard receives federal funding, that accredited institutions are expected to “ensure academic honesty,” and that rules put into place are supposed to be applied fairly to students and staff. According to Harvard’s annual report, in a single recent school year Harvard investigated 42 incidents of plagiarism and 58 other violations of the school’s honor code and punished dozens of students who were found to have violated the code.
“Our concern is that standards are not being applied consistently, resulting in different rules for different members of the academic community,” Ms. Foxx said. “If a university is willing to look the other way and not hold faculty accountable for engaging in academically dishonest behavior, it cheapens its mission and the value of its education. Students must be evaluated fairly, under known standards—and have a right to see that faculty are, too.”
The requested materials would help “provide assurance that Harvard is adequately, appropriately, and, most importantly, equally applying these general standards of academic honesty,” she added.
Ms. Gay told Harvard’s newspaper that the school would provide the requested materials.
“I understand through the news that there is an inquiry,” she said. “Once we receive official notice, we will comply with whatever information is called for.”
A spokesperson for the school has also said the university would share information with the panel.
Calls for Ms. Gay to be fired have so far been resisted. They started after Ms. Gay testified to the House in early December and declined to say whether students calling for the genocide of Jews would violate school rules.
