Larry Summers, former president of Harvard University and former US Treasury secretary, is retiring from his teaching position at Harvard following revelations that his ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein ran deeper than previously known.
“I have made the difficult decision to retire from my teaching position at Harvard at the end of this academic year,” Summers said in a statement Wednesday. “I will always be grateful to the thousands of students and colleagues with whom I have had the privilege of teaching and working since I arrived at Harvard as a graduate student 50 years ago.”
Summers, 71, had withdrawn from public engagements in November following the release of details of an extensive correspondence exchange between him and Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 after being detained on charges of sex trafficking of minors. Epstein’s death was ruled a suicide.
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The student newspaper The Harvard Crimson was the first to release Summers’ statement.
The Justice Department has released millions of documents containing emails and text messages that show how Epstein cultivated ties with high-ranking leaders in the worlds of business, politics and higher education. Although some of his connections to figures such as billionaires Leon Black and Leslie Wexner had been known for years, correspondence revealed that his network was much wider than previously imagined.
Exchanges of messages between Epstein and Summers showed that they communicated for years on topics ranging from academia and personal relationships to President Donald Trump. Summers, Treasury secretary from 1999 to 2001, said in a statement late last year that he was “deeply ashamed” of his actions. He is one of several high-profile leaders who have been forced to step back from public life following these revelations.
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Harvard said in November that it would open a new investigation into the university’s ties to Epstein.
Spokesman Jason Newton said in a statement Wednesday that Kennedy School Director Jeremy Weinstein has accepted Summers’ resignation from his leadership position as co-director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government.
“Freed from formal responsibilities, as president emeritus and retired professor, I look forward, in due time, to devoting myself to research, analysis and commentary on a range of global economic issues,” Summers said in his statement.
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