Harvard is opening an investigation into the university’s connections to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The school made the announcement Wednesday after recently released emails showed former Harvard President Larry Summers and his wife kept close ties with Epstein, even after his conviction in 2008.
“The University is conducting a review of information concerning individuals at Harvard included in the newly released Jeffrey Epstein documents to evaluate what actions may be warranted,” a spokesperson said in a statement to GBH News.
Summers released a statement on Monday saying he’s ashamed of his communications with Epstein, and that he’s stepping back from his public commitments. On Wednesday, he announced his resignation from the board of artificial intelligence company OpenAI. But he continues to direct the Kennedy School’s Center on Business and Government and teach economics to undergraduates.
At Harvard’s Kennedy School, some faculty members say they’re hoping Larry Summers won’t wait for the new review to wrap up, and will instead retire next semester.
“He is an embarrassment to the institution, to put it mildly,” said Mary Waters, director of undergraduate studies and a sociologist at Harvard. “I don’t think we can strip him of tenure unless more wrongdoing comes to light, but he should retire and go away. And he certainly should not be anywhere near students.”
Harvard senior Eunice Chon agreed that Summers should stop teaching.
“His association with Epstein and his interactions are disgusting,” said Chon, who cofounded the school’s Feminist Coalition.
Walter Johnson, a professor of African and African American studies at Harvard and a self-described anarchist, said he questions whether the university should discipline someone over content in private communications revealed by the government. Still, he said he “wouldn’t miss” Summers if he left campus.
“From my perspective, Summers is a prejudiced and unprincipled bully. He has spent the past two years repeatedly attacking my students and colleagues, most recently comparing our undergraduates to the KKK,” Johnson said, adding, “I expect that Professor Summers, who has so lustily participated in the doxxing and targeting of those who have been critical of Israel, would strongly support such an action were he in the other side of it.”
Chon added that beyond her opinions about Summers’ conduct, the released emails have damaged trust between students and professors.
“The violation of that trust that is required in these professional and academic relationships, that is a huge blow to not only professor Summers’ reputation, but also Harvard as a whole,” she said.
Harvard previously investigated Epstein’s ties to the school, specifically, his donations to the institution, his appointment as a visiting fellow, and his involvement with a program that he initially funded. Then-President Larry Bacow acknowledged the university had received $9.1 million from Epstein prior to his conviction, and expressed regret over Harvard’s association with the sex offender. The university donated unspent funds to two organizations that support survivors of trafficking and sexual assault.
But that landmark investigation did not delve into Harvard personnel’s direct relationships with Epstein.
Ray Madoff, who teaches philanthropy at Boston College Law School and is the author of “The Second Estate: How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy,” said these emails reveal a wider problem with institutions that rely heavily on donor funding.
“Universities and other organizations that depend on big donors can end up getting thrown around by the interests of their donors,” Madoff said. “We see this regularly in the prevalence of legacy admissions, and last year when we saw big donors bring down university presidents. And, again, here as Jeffrey Epstein’s capacity to make large donations and procure donations from others bought him acceptance into elite circles.”
