Harvard announced that larry summers will resign from teaching at the end of the academic year, a university spokesman said, and will not return to classroom duties before he departs.
Jason Newton, a Harvard spokesman, said Summers also resigned as co-director of the Mossavar‑Rahmani Center for Business and Government and that his departure came "in connection with the ongoing review by the University of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein that were recently released by the government."
The decision follows the release of documents and emails that showed a prolonged relationship between Summers and Jeffrey Epstein, including exchanges that touched on politics, philanthropy and women, and in which Epstein described himself as Summers's "wingman," according to the materials cited by news reports.
Harvard confirmed that Martin A. Nowak, a professor of mathematics and of biology with a long documented history with Epstein, has been placed on administrative leave pending further investigation by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the university said.
Summers, a former U.S. treasury secretary and past Harvard president, said in a statement that he had made "the difficult decision" to retire and that, as president emeritus and a retired professor, he looked forward to engaging in research, analysis and commentary on global economic issues.
Documents released in oversight and justice reviews also note Epstein's prior ties to Harvard, including more than nine million dollars in donations to Harvard and affiliated programs from 1998 to 2008, and the university's later finding that Epstein "lacked the academic qualifications visiting fellows typically possess" when he was appointed a visiting fellow.
Gates Foundation Town Hall And Epstein Revelations
At a Gates Foundation town hall, Bill Gates addressed staff questions about his ties to Epstein, apologised and said he took responsibility for his actions, the foundation said in a statement.
The Wall Street Journal reported it reviewed a recording in which Gates apologised, said it was a "huge mistake" to spend time with Epstein and acknowledged two affairs with Russian women that Epstein later learned about, while insisting those women were not Epstein's victims and that he "did nothing illicit," according to the Journal.
Gates told staff he began meeting Epstein in 2011 and continued interactions through 2014, that he flew on Epstein's private jet, and that he never stayed overnight at Epstein's properties or visited Epstein's island, according to news reports that cited the town hall remarks.
The DOJ files and related releases included images and drafts of emails that raised further questions, including an allegation about a sexually transmitted infection that Gates's spokesperson called "absolutely absurd and completely false," and images that Gates said Epstein had asked him to take with Epstein's assistants after meetings.
The Gates Foundation said in a statement that Gates "spoke candidly" and answered staff questions on the record. News reports also noted that Gates's ex‑wife had expressed scepticism about his association with Epstein and that those tensions had figured in public accounts of their relationship.
