Larry Summers will resign from teaching at Harvard during review of Epstein ties, university says

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers to Retire from Harvard Amid Epstein Ties Review

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers will retire from Harvard University as the institution reviews his connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Harvard announced Wednesday.

Summers, who has been on leave since November, will officially step down at the end of the current academic year. His name appeared hundreds of times in recently released Epstein files, raising questions about their relationship that spanned years.

“Professor Summers has announced that he will retire from his academic and faculty appointments at Harvard at the end of this academic year and will remain on leave until that time,” said Harvard spokesperson Jason Newton in a statement.

In his own statement, Summers described the decision as difficult and expressed gratitude to students and colleagues from his five-decade association with Harvard, including his tenure as university president from 2001 to 2006.

“Free of formal responsibility, as President Emeritus and a retired professor, I look forward in time to engaging in research, analysis, and commentary on a range of global economic issues,” Summers said.

The recently released Justice Department files revealed extensive correspondence between Summers and Epstein. Their relationship included mutual visits to their homes in Massachusetts and New York, with email exchanges covering topics ranging from economics and politics to personal matters including relationships and romance.

In one notable exchange from 2018-2019, Summers consulted Epstein about a relationship with a woman he was tutoring in economics. Epstein described himself as Summers’ “wing man” in these communications. Summers, who has been married for over 20 years to Lisa Summers, acknowledged in these emails the risk to his family life, writing: “I have a very good life w Lisa kids etc. Easy to put at risk for something that might not materialize at all or if it does might prove transient.”

The documents also revealed a 2016 email where Summers apparently used a slur when discussing an upcoming meeting between Epstein and a Chinese university official.

Responding to previous revelations about his Epstein connections last year, Summers admitted to “great regrets” and called the association a “major error in judgment.”

Summers’ departure follows a pattern of academic leaders stepping down amid scrutiny of their Epstein ties. Just a day before Summers’ announcement, Columbia University’s Dr. Richard Axel, a Nobel laureate, resigned as co-director of the university’s Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute. Axel’s name appeared more than 600 times in the Justice Department files, showing extensive interactions with Epstein.

The relationship between Epstein and Harvard has been problematic for years. A 2020 university report found that Epstein donated more than $9 million to Harvard, primarily to a center founded by mathematics and biology professor Martin Nowak, who was later disciplined by the university. However, that report did not mention Summers’ relationship with Epstein.

The fallout from Summers’ Epstein connections has already affected his professional standing. In December, he received a lifetime ban from the American Economic Association, and he has departed from the board of directors at OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.

Summers’ tenure at Harvard included significant academic contributions and controversial moments. Before leading Harvard, he served as Treasury Secretary under President Bill Clinton from 1999 to 2001. His presidency at Harvard ended amid controversy in 2006 after comments about women in science and engineering sparked widespread criticism.

The Epstein document release has sent shockwaves through academic, business, and political circles globally. The financial mogul, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, cultivated relationships with numerous influential figures across multiple sectors, many of whom have faced scrutiny and professional consequences as their connections come to light.

Harvard officials have provided limited public comment on Summers’ relationship with Epstein beyond acknowledging an ongoing review of individuals mentioned in the documents “to evaluate what actions may be warranted.”