Former U.S. Treasury Secretary and Harvard president Larry Summers will retire from his academic posts at Harvard University at the end of this academic year, following a university review into his ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The announcement, made public on February 25, 2026, marks the latest and perhaps most high-profile fallout from the Justice Department’s release of millions of documents detailing Epstein’s far-reaching web of connections to powerful figures in academia, business, and politics.
Summers’ decision to step down comes after months of mounting scrutiny. The Justice Department’s document dump in January 2026, combined with congressional releases, revealed hundreds of emails and frequent meetings between Summers and Epstein, stretching as late as July 5, 2019—the day before Epstein’s arrest on sex trafficking charges. Despite the gravity of the revelations, there is no publicly available evidence implicating Summers in Epstein’s crimes, nor has any survivor accused him of misconduct. Still, the correspondence painted a picture of a close professional and personal relationship that many in the Harvard community and beyond found deeply troubling.
In his statement, Summers called the decision to retire “difficult,” expressing gratitude for the “thousands of students and colleagues I have been privileged to teach and work with since coming to Harvard as a graduate student 50 years ago.” He added, “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 will remain on leave from teaching and will not take on new advisees until his retirement is effective.
Harvard officials confirmed the move. “In connection with the ongoing review by the University of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein that were recently released by the government, Harvard Kennedy School Dean Jeremy Weinstein has accepted Professor Lawrence H. Summers’ resignation from his leadership position as co-director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government,” spokesman Jason Newton told CNBC. “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.”
Summers, a towering figure in economics and public policy, served as U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Bill Clinton and as director of the National Economic Council under President Barack Obama. He led Harvard from 2001 to 2006, a tenure marked by both innovation and controversy. During his presidency, Epstein donated millions to Harvard, a fact now under renewed scrutiny.
The emails between Summers and Epstein, some of which were detailed by The Harvard Crimson and BBC, reveal a relationship that extended far beyond professional courtesies. Summers sought Epstein’s advice on personal matters, including a romantic pursuit of a woman he described as a “mentee.” In a November 2018 exchange, Summers wrote, “Think for now I’m going nowhere with her except economics mentor.” Epstein, for his part, offered support and described himself as Summers’ “wing man.” In another message, Summers mused, “Am I thanking her or being sorry re my being married. I think the former.” These emails, which also included discussions about women and controversial remarks about gender and intelligence, added fuel to longstanding criticisms of Summers’ views on gender in academia.
One particularly debated email from 2017 had Summers writing to Epstein, “I observed that half the IQ in world was possessed by women without mentioning they are more than 51 percent of population.” He also questioned why “hit[ting] on a few women 10 years ago” could bar someone from working at a network or think tank, while more severe crimes seemed to be overlooked in elite circles. Summers ended that message with, “DO NOT REPEAT THIS INSIGHT.”
Summers’ resignation follows a familiar pattern among high-profile figures named in the Epstein files. Just a day earlier, Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist Richard Axel stepped down from his leadership role at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute after his own communications with Epstein came to light. Axel, who retains his professorship and research responsibilities, described his association with Epstein as “a serious error in judgment, which I deeply regret.” Columbia confirmed his departure from the leadership post, while emphasizing no evidence of misconduct connected to Epstein’s crimes.
Yale University has also been swept up in the fallout. As of February 11, 2026, Yale barred computer science professor David Gelernter from teaching while it reviews his contacts with Epstein, which included mentioning a student for a potential project at Epstein’s request. Other prominent names, from business executives to political figures, have faced professional and legal consequences as the depth of Epstein’s network becomes more apparent.
Summers’ own history at Harvard was already marked by controversy before the Epstein revelations. In 2005, he ignited a national debate with remarks speculating that women may lack an “intrinsic aptitude” for science and engineering—comments for which he later apologized, insisting he did not believe women were intellectually inferior. The backlash led to a faculty vote of no confidence and ultimately to his resignation as Harvard president in 2006. He returned to the university as a “University Professor,” the school’s highest faculty rank, a year later.
Following the release of the Epstein emails, Summers also resigned from the board of OpenAI and announced he would step back from other public commitments. In a November 2025 statement, Summers said, “I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused. I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein.”
The correspondence also revealed that Summers and his wife, academic Elisa New, made a brief visit to Epstein’s private island during their honeymoon in 2005, though Summers’ spokesperson described the visit as lasting less than a day. Additional emails suggest Summers helped Epstein arrange meetings at Harvard for wealthy associates, and that Epstein donated to a nonprofit linked to New. In a draft of Epstein’s will from 2014, Summers was named as an executor, though a spokesperson said he had “absolutely no knowledge” of that designation.
The impact of the Epstein files continues to ripple through elite institutions. As BBC and CNBC have reported, the Justice Department’s release of millions of documents has prompted resignations, investigations, and a reckoning over how powerful individuals responded to what was publicly known about Epstein’s abuses. While Summers and others have not been accused of direct involvement in Epstein’s crimes, the revelations have forced universities and other organizations to confront uncomfortable questions about judgment, accountability, and the responsibilities of leadership.
For Summers, the end of his long Harvard career closes a chapter marked by both achievement and controversy. As scrutiny of Epstein’s network continues, the academic world is left to grapple with the enduring consequences of these powerful connections—and the choices made in their shadows.