Harvard Professor Martin Nowak placed on administrative leave over Jeffrey Epstein ties
Harvard University has decided to place mathematics professor Martin Nowak on administrative leave. This decision was made after the university received new information regarding the relationship between Nowak and Jeffrey Epstein. The development occurs as former Harvard President Larry Summers also announced he will step down from his professorship this summer, amid a wave of scrutiny over connections to Epstein.
According to internal letters published by the Harvard Crimson, Harvard is currently launching a new investigation to determine whether Professor Nowak violated the university's rules of conduct. Hopi Hoekstra, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, stated that the university has made arrangements to minimize the impact on teaching activities.
Jeffrey Epstein once donated $6.5 million to Professor Nowak to establish the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, a unit that has since been shut down. A 2020 Harvard report indicated that Epstein visited the program's office at least 40 times between 2010 and 2018. During this period, Professor Nowak granted Epstein campus access, including keycards and access codes.
Documents released by the Department of Justice also highlighted emails regarding flight plans from Boston to St. Thomas in 2012 and a 2014 exchange asking if Epstein wanted Professor Nowak to visit the island. Professor Nowak has firmly denied any knowledge of Epstein's criminal behavior. In May 2019, he sent a message to an Epstein associate expressing a desire to cut ties soon because "everything has become very strange," three months before Epstein was federally indicted on sex trafficking charges involving minors.
In related developments, former Harvard President Larry Summers, 71, has also announced his decision to leave his professorship, describing it as a difficult decision. Recently released images and emails show that he and Epstein maintained contact for many years. A spokesperson for Summers stated that his stay on Epstein's private island occurred before the first arrest and lasted less than a day.
Harvard University has not yet announced a specific timeline for completing the investigation into Professor Martin Nowak.
