Two prominent figures in academia and global policy circles have announced departures from their positions following renewed scrutiny over past communications with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Former Harvard president Lawrence H. Summers said Wednesday that he will retire from his academic and faculty roles at Harvard University at the end of the current academic year. The decision follows the release of documents detailing his past communications with Epstein.
A Harvard spokesperson confirmed that Harvard Kennedy School Dean Jeremy Weinstein accepted Summers’ resignation from his leadership role as co-director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government. The university said the move came as part of an ongoing review of documents recently released by the government related to Epstein.According to the statement, Summers will remain on leave until his retirement takes effect later this year. In remarks shared through a spokesperson, Summers said stepping down was a difficult decision after decades at the university.
“I have made the difficult decision to retire from my Harvard professorship at the end of this academic year,” Summers said. He added that he remains grateful to the thousands of students and colleagues he worked with during his 50 years at Harvard, beginning as a graduate student.Summers previously served as U.S. Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton and later as a top economic adviser to President Barack Obama. He had already stepped away from teaching in November amid growing scrutiny over the communications.Separately, Børge Brende, president and CEO of the World Economic Forum since 2017, also stepped down after the organization opened an internal review into his contacts with Epstein. Brende said he was unaware of Epstein’s criminal background and described his time leading the forum as “profoundly rewarding,” adding that he believed it was the right moment to step aside.
