Alan Garber, the Harvard official tapped to temporarily lead the school in the wake of former President Claudine Gay’s ouster, acknowledged Monday that the campus has “been through an extraordinarily painful and disorienting time,” but urged its community to come together. “Since I first arrived here as an undergraduate in 1973, I cannot recall a period of comparable tension on our campus and across our community,” Garber said in a written statement to the community. “It’s crucial that we bridge the fissures that have weakened our sense of community and, through our words and deeds, affirm the immense worth of what we do here, notwithstanding our shortcomings.” Garber previously served as Harvard’s provost for 12 years before being appointed to the presidency on Tuesday, the same day that Gay resigned. Gay departed the university under a cloud after just six months in office, brought down by the controversy provoked by her congressional testimony and academic plagiarism allegations.
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