Harvard President Claudine Gay is hit with plagiarism accusations - which she DENIES and says she 'stands by the integrity of my scholarship' as she faces pressure to step down after disastrous congressional hearing

Harvard President Claudine Gay has denied plagiarizing work during her academic career amid mounting pressure to step down after her disastrous congressional hearing.

In a statement to the Boston Globe on Monday, Gay said: 'I stand by the integrity of my scholarship. Throughout my career, I have worked to ensure my scholarship adheres to the highest academic standards.' 

It comes after billionaire hedge fund boss and Harvard alum Bill Ackman shared accusations of plagiarism made against Gay by bloggers Christopher Rufo and Christopher Brunet, who claim the Harvard leader lifted identical wording for her 1997 dissertation. 

The 53-year-old is facing intense scrutiny after she failed to condemn anti-Semitism in a shocking exchange before NY Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik on Capitol Hill last week.

Gay replied that it depended on context whether calls for the genocide of Jews at Harvard constituted harassment and violated the rules. 

University of Pennsylvania Liz Magill is the only one of the three ivy league presidents to have stepped down following their testimony last week - but pressure is mounting on Harvard to let go of Gay.

The Harvard Corporation - one of two governing boards -  is set to meet on Monday.

On Sunday bloggers Rufo and Brunet accused Gay of using nearly verbatim language from authors Lawrence Bobo and Franklin Gilliam, as well as scholar Carol Swain.

Swain reacted to the claims on Twitter, writing: 'I just learned of analysis of #ClaudineGay ’s work and the allegations of plagiarism. I have not read the articles or books in question. However, two things come to mind: imitation is said to be the highest form of flattery and secondly Dr. Gay’s committee, reviewers, and colleagues should have caught these alleged transgressions.'

However, Harvard professor Lobo, one of those allegedly plagiarized by Gay, told the Boston Globe: 'I find myself unconcerned about these claims as our work was explicitly acknowledged.'

More than 640 Harvard faculty members signed a letter in support of Gay, urging the school to resist calls to fire her, describing the attacks against her as 'politically motivated.' 

But on Sunday Ackman sent a letter to Harvard, his alma mater, accusing Gay of 'doing  more damage to Harvard’s reputation than anyone in the university’s history.'

The billionaire demanded that the university's board of directors review Gay's history, including accusations of plagiarism, and of discriminatingly against those that don't fit the look of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).

Ackman also mentioned the case of former Winthrop House faculty dean Ronald Sullivan, who in 2019 accused Gay of dismissing him from his role because of his work on Harvey Weinstein's defense team.

The law professor, who was the first black dean of a Harvard school, accused Gay and Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana of lying about their motives for dismissing him when they claimed it was because he fostered a toxic work environment.

'The actions were cowardly and craven and Dean Gay and Dean Khurana just consistently and repeatedly lied to the student body and they know better,' he said, according to The Harvard Crimson.

'Their problem was that I represented an unpopular person... They said it to my face and other senior members said it to my face and then they turned around and lied to the student body.'

Ackman said: 'As Dean, Gay showed no respect for basic American legal principles when she fired Harvard Law School Professor Ronald Sullivan as residential dean for taking on the legal defense of Harvey Weinstein. President Gay should hope that someday when she needs counsel, she will be able to obtain quality representation for herself.'

Harvard has denied the decision was because of Sullivan's work with Weinstein, which sparked protests on campus. Sullivan remains a law professor at Harvard.

In his letter to the Harvard board, Ackman also cited Harvard's plummeting in the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) College Free Speech Rankings since Gay took over. While the school has never been high on the list, it reached its worst-ever ranking, landing at the very last spot.

FIRE said: 'Harvard completed its downward spiral in dramatic fashion, coming in dead last with the worst score ever: 0.00 out of a possible 100.00. This earns it the notorious distinction of being the only school ranked this year with an “Abysmal” speech climate.'

Gay, a professor of Government and of African and African-American Studies, was inaugurated as Harvard's first black president back ink July. She has taken interest in DEI policies and created the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging.