Former Harvard president Claudine Gay speaks out about her resignation in New York Times op-ed

A day after announcing her resignation as president of Harvard University, Claudine Gay wrote an op-ed for The New York Times defending her tenure.

Gay said she stepped down from her position on Tuesday, just six months in the role, to stop political "demagogues" from using her in an attempt to undermine the university and the values it stands for. 

"My hope is that by stepping down I will deny demagogues the opportunity to further weaponize my presidency in their campaign to undermine the ideals animating Harvard since its founding: excellence, openness, independence, truth," she wrote.