Billionaire Len Blavatnik Suspends Donations to Harvard University Over Handling of Racism Issue
Billionaire Len Blavatnik and conservative scholar Carol Swain announced on Thursday their joining the group of critics of Harvard University President Claudine Gay, with Blavatnik deciding to suspend his donations to the university due to Gay’s handling of the issue of racism and student-led protests on campus, while Swain called for Gay’s dismissal partly due to accusations of plagiarism against her work.
Harvard President Claudine Gay Faces Sharp Criticism Over Handling of Racism Issue
Harvard President Claudine Gay has faced harsh criticism due to her questioning regarding the issue of racism. Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Blavatnik, who received his MBA from Harvard Business School and has donated more than $270 million to the university through his family foundation, decided to suspend his donations due to Gay’s testimony in Congress earlier this month on the racism issue, which received heavy criticism from members of Congress and other university donors, including billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman.
Calls for the Dismissal of Harvard President Claudine Gay Over Plagiarism Accusations
Carol Swain, a senior fellow at the Institute for Faith and Culture, urged Harvard officials to “stop listening to the defenders of plagiarism” in a post on X, and to replace them with “the best man or woman who can lead the university towards rationality.” Swain also accused Gay of stealing her work in her 1993 book “Black Faces, Black Interests: The Representation of African Americans in Congress,” and in an article she wrote in 1997, stating in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal that “the harm done to me goes beyond two instances of plagiarism,” pointing out that Gay ignored the significance of her research.
University’s Response to Criticism and Support for Gay
Gay, who received support from the Harvard Board earlier this month despite increasing calls for her resignation, did not respond to Forbes’ request for comment. Universities in the Ivy League are facing intense criticism due to heated discussions surrounding the Israel-Hamas war following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7. University officials have faced heavy criticism from some donors and faculty members and a group of billionaires regarding their response to reports of rising antisemitism on campus. Gay has also been subject to harsh criticism from members of Congress following a tense session in the House regarding the issue of racism earlier this month, where members from both parties criticized Gay for her responses to a question regarding whether calls for the extermination of the Jewish people would violate the school’s harassment and bullying policies (Gay stated that such calls could be a violation “depending on the context”). Three days after the session, a group of 72 Republicans in the House and two Democrats signed a letter calling for Gay’s dismissal, along with MIT President Sally Kornbluth and former University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill “immediately” due to what the publishers deemed “their failure to condemn the systematic calls for the killing of Jews” (Magill resigned less than a week later). Last week, the House passed a resolution calling for the leaders to resign, stating that their testimony in Congress was “evasive and disrespectful.”
Blavatnik’s Wealth Estimate and University Donations
Blavatnik’s wealth is estimated at around $31.7 billion, making him the 47th richest person in the world and the vice-chairman of Warner Music Group and founder of Access Industries. He has also pledged to donate more than $1 billion to several universities, including Harvard, Stanford, and Oxford.
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Harvard University and the Ivy League schools have become a focal point for discussions regarding Israel’s war with Hamas, based in Gaza. University officials have faced sharp criticism for their responses to reports of rising anti-Semitism on campus. Gay has also been harshly criticized by members of Congress for her responses to questions about whether calls for the extermination of the Jewish people would violate the school’s policies on harassment and bullying.
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