Academic whom Claudine Gay plagiarized calls for Harvard leader's firing: Need to get ‘back towards sanity’

A retired Vanderbilt University professor and allegedly one of Harvard President Claudine Gay's plagiarism victims, has called for the immediate firing of the embattled higher education leader to "steer the university back towards sanity."

"Fire Claudine Gay posthaste," Dr. Carol Swain posted Thursday on X, as part of a social media post titled "some free unsolicited advice for Harvard University."

"She can be relieved of duties until the terms are negotiated."

Swain, a senior fellow at the Institute for Faith, said that the Ivy League university must hire the best man or woman for the job who can "steer the university back towards sanity."

BILLIONAIRE HARVARD DONOR PULLS BACK DONATIONS OVER PRESIDENT'S ANTISEMITISM TESTIMONY

Scholar Carol Swain, right, says Harvard President Claudine Gay plagiarized her work.  (Harvard/Fox News)

"Hire the best man or woman who can steer the university back towards sanity," Swain continued. "Appeasing the Marxist identity politics mob should not be a consideration. The person for the job might be a middle to older age white Jewish man who believes in classical liberalism."

CONGRESS EXPANDS SCOPE OF HARVARD INVESTIGATION TO INCLUDE ALLEGATIONS OF PRESIDENT'S PLAGIARISM

Last week, Swain called for Gay to step down after Harvard officials chose to stand by their leader despite a probe finding "instances of inadequate citation."

On Thursday, Swain also recommended that Harvard University have a "sit down conversation" with the academics who Gay plagiarized from and apologize to alumni, students, parents and donors who have "been harmed and embarrassed" by Gay's behavior.

"Have a sit down conversation with the people who have been harmed by the plagiarism of Gay and the system that protects her. Rcognize that Harvard’s systematic racism and classism have far reaching effects," Swain said. "Apologize to alumni, students, parents, and donors who have been harmed and embarrassed."

Claudine Gay, president of Harvard University, during a House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing Dec. 5 in Washington, D.C. (Haiyun Jiang/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Gay, who recently made headlines for refusing to say if genocide of Jews was against Harvard policy during a congressional hearing, was accused of plagiarism on Dec. 12.

STUDENTS REJECTING EARLY HARVARD ACCEPTANCE AS ANTISEMITISM RUNS RAMPANT

The Washington Free Beacon reported that in four papers published between 1993 and 2017, including her doctoral dissertation, Gay "paraphrased or quoted nearly 20 authors—including two of her colleagues in Harvard University’s department of government—without proper attribution," according to an analysis by the investigative news site.

Since the initial reports of plagiarism, the Washington Free Beacon reported that Harvard "received a complaint outlining over 40 allegations of plagiarism" against Gay on Tuesday. 

Dr. Claudine Gay, president of Harvard University, left, testifies before the House Education and Workforce Committee at the Rayburn House Office Building, Dec. 5, in Washington, D.C.  (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

A former Democrat, Swain has long stood out in academia as outspokenly conservative on many issues. She served on President Trump's "1776 Commission," a response to the controversial "1619 Project" about slavery and the history of the United States.

Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Fox News' Brian Flood, Nikolas Lanum and David Rutz contributed to this report.

Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. 

She is a native of Massachusetts and is based in Orlando, Florida.

Story tips and ideas can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and on X: @s_rumpfwhitten.