Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers has abruptly taken leave from his teaching position at Harvard University following the release of emails revealing his continued friendly relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Sudden Departure from Academic Duties
Larry Summers' spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday that the prominent economist would step back from all his responsibilities at the prestigious American university. This dramatic move comes just days after Mr Summers had announced he would maintain his teaching commitments while withdrawing from public engagements.
The decision marks a complete reversal from his Monday statement, where he specifically indicated he would continue teaching economics classes despite the growing controversy surrounding his connections to Epstein.
Multiple Roles Affected by Leave
By Wednesday evening, Mr Summers had not only withdrawn from his teaching duties but also stepped down as director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Centre for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School. This development followed his earlier decision to sever ties with OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company behind ChatGPT.
Steven Goldberg, speaking for Mr Summers, explained: "Mr Summers has decided it's in the best interest of the centre for him to go on leave from his role as Director as Harvard undertakes its review."
His co-teachers will complete the remaining three class sessions of the courses he was teaching this semester, and he has no teaching assignments scheduled for the upcoming semester.
Revelations from Released Emails
Harvard University has decided to restart an investigation into Epstein connections, though it didn't specifically name Mr Summers. The renewed scrutiny follows the publication of emails showing the former treasury secretary maintained friendly communications with the millionaire financier long after Epstein's 2008 guilty plea for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
The correspondence includes particularly troubling exchanges from November 2018, where Epstein appeared to be advising Mr Summers on pursuing a romantic relationship. "im a pretty good wing man , no? (sic)" Epstein wrote on November 30, 2018.
The following day, Mr Summers informed Epstein he had contacted the woman in question, asking for guidance on whether to "thank her or being sorry re: my being married."
Further emails revealed that Mr Summers' wife, Elisa New - an English professor emerita at Harvard - had also corresponded with Epstein. In a 2015 message, she thanked him for arranging financial support for a poetry project she directs, describing how the gift "changed everything for me."
Previous Harvard-Epstein Connections
This isn't the first time Harvard has faced scrutiny over its Epstein connections. A 2020 review disclosed that the convicted sex offender had visited Harvard's campus more than 40 times following his 2008 conviction. Epstein was reportedly given his own office and unrestricted access to a research centre he helped establish.
The professor who provided Epstein with office space faced disciplinary action, being barred from starting new research or advising students for at least two years.
Final Classroom Appearance
Mr Summers made what now appears to be his final classroom appearance on Tuesday, teaching The Political Economy of Globalisation to undergraduates alongside Professor Robert Lawrence from the Harvard Kennedy School.
During that session, he addressed the growing controversy directly: "Some of you will have seen my statement of regret expressing my shame with respect to what I did in communication with Mr Epstein and that I've said that I'm going to step back from public activities for a while. But I think it's very important to fulfill my teaching obligations," he told students.
Several students recorded his remarks, though no public responses to his comments were immediately apparent. The Harvard Crimson, the university's student newspaper, first broke the news of Mr Summers' decision to take leave.
It remains uncertain whether Larry Summers will return to teaching in future semesters as Harvard continues its investigation into the full extent of Epstein's connections within the university community.