Economist Larry Summers resigns from Harvard position after investigation into ties to Epstein
Harvard’s former president will step down from his teaching and faculty positions at the end of the academic year
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Larry Summers, former president of Harvard University and influential economist, will Resign from your research and teaching positions At the end of the current academic year.
The move comes after Harvard launched november investigation Summers and many other scholars have been discussing his relationship with disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Summers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Summers will also step down from his position as co-director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard Kennedy School.
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Harvard spokesman Jason Newton said in a statement scientific American That “In connection with the University’s ongoing review of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein that were recently released by the government, Jeremy Weinstein, Dean of the Harvard Kennedy School, has accepted the resignation of Professor Lawrence H. Summers from his leadership position as co-director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government.”
“Professor Summers has announced that he will retire from his academic and faculty appointments at Harvard at the end of this academic year and will remain on leave until that time,” Newton said.
The depth of Summers’ relationship with Epstein was revealed through e-mails released by a congressional committee in November and other documents later released by the Justice Department. In some e-mails from 2018 and 2019, it appears that Summers asked the then-convicted sex offender for advice on a relationship Summers desired with a younger woman he described. as a disciple. Epstein died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Summers had previously resigned from his position on OpenAI’s board. In a statement to the Crimson after announcing his departure from teaching, Summers said the decision was “difficult”, and that he “looks forward to engaging in research, analysis and commentary on a number of global issues at the time.”
Summers is the second high-profile academic to step down from his positions this week: Nobel laureate Richard Axel announced Tuesday that he will resign from his post as co-director of the Columbia University Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute over his ties to Epstein.
Editor’s note: This is a developing story and may be updated.
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