Lawrence "Larry" Summers, the former US Treasury Secretary and President of Harvard University, has announced his retirement from his professorship at the elite institution. The decision, announced on Wednesday, follows renewed scrutiny of his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Summers, 69, stated he will retire at the end of the current academic year. "I have made the difficult decision to retire from my Harvard professorship at the end of this academic year," he said. "I will always be grateful to 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."
Emails Reveal Personal and Controversial Exchanges
The retirement is the latest consequence of the fallout from recently released emails detailing Summers's communications with Epstein. Documents released by the US Justice Department and the House Oversight Committee show the former Treasury Secretary sought Epstein's advice on pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman he described as a mentee.
In the correspondence, Summers also made a sexist remark about women's intelligence. Epstein, who died in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, referred to himself as Summers's "wingman" in one email.
University Investigation Remains Ongoing
A Harvard University spokesperson confirmed that Summers has also resigned as co-director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government. He has been on leave from his teaching duties since November 2024 and will remain on leave until his retirement takes effect.
The university announced in November that it had opened a new investigation into Epstein's relationship with Summers. That internal review is described as "ongoing" by the university.
Epstein had previously pleaded guilty in 2008 to state charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution. The financier's associations with powerful figures in politics, academia, and business have been under intense examination since his death.
Broader Professional Repercussions
Summers's ties to Epstein have led to other significant professional setbacks. Last year, he was barred from the American Economic Association and resigned from the board of the artificial intelligence research company OpenAI.
In his retirement statement, Summers indicated he plans to remain active in public discourse. "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," he said.