• Harvard professor briefly references scandal in recorded classroom moment circulating on social media
• Former Treasury Secretary resigns from OpenAI board, loses New York Times contract
• Students call for resignation after emails show Summers sought romantic advice from Epstein

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (TDR) — Harvard University professor Larry Summers began his Tuesday economics class by briefly addressing his “shame” over past involvement with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, telling students he placed a high value on continuing to teach despite widespread calls for his resignation.

The moment, captured on video by a student and circulating on social media platform X, shows Summers referencing his public statement expressing regret before quickly moving to the course material. “Some of you will have seen my statement of regret, expressing my shame with respect to what I did in communication with Mr. Epstein, and that I’ve said that I’m going to step back from public activity part time,” Summers said. “I think it’s very important to fulfill my teaching obligations.”

On Wednesday, Summers announced he would resign from the OpenAI board of directors, marking the latest casualty in rapidly expanding fallout from newly public emails revealing his continued contact with Epstein even after the financier’s 2008 conviction.

Larry Summers began his class yesterday by expressing the shame he feels over his past involvement with Jeffery Epstein
pic.twitter.com/pI4dCc20IA

— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) November 19, 2025

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Emails reveal years of correspondence

The House Oversight Committee released more than 20,000 documents from Epstein’s estate last week, including hundreds of emails between Summers and Epstein spanning from 2013 to July 2019, just days before Epstein’s arrest on federal sex trafficking charges. The correspondence showed the two men discussing politics, Harvard projects, and Summers’ personal life.

Most damaging were exchanges where Summers, who was married at the time, sought Epstein’s romantic advice about pursuing a relationship with a woman he described as a mentee. In November 2018 messages, Epstein called himself Summers’ “wing man” and provided dating tips. The two men joked in June 2019 about the probability Summers would have sex with the woman, whom they referred to by the code name “peril.”

“I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused,” Summers said in a Monday statement. “I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein.”

Professional ties severed

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The fallout accelerated rapidly after the email release. The New York Times confirmed it would not renew Summers’ one-year contributor contract, with a spokesman telling The Harvard Crimson: “We do not intend to renew this contract. We thank him for his contributions.”

The Center for American Progress, where Summers served as a distinguished senior fellow, announced he was ending his fellowship. The Yale Budget Lab removed him from its list of advisers. Bloomberg TV confirmed Summers stepped down from his paid contributor role.

Wednesday’s OpenAI board resignation came two days after his initial announcement to step back from public commitments. “In line with my announcement to step away from my public commitments, I have also decided to resign from the board of OpenAI,” Summers said. The artificial intelligence company’s board said it “respects his decision” and appreciated “his many contributions.”

Summers joined OpenAI’s board in November 2023 during a turbulent period when CEO Sam Altman was briefly ousted before returning days later. He served alongside Bret Taylor and Adam D’Angelo to stabilize the company, which has since attracted billions in private investment and is valued at more than $500 billion.

Students demand resignation

More than a dozen Harvard students told The Crimson they believe Summers should resign from his position as University Professor, the school’s highest faculty distinction. Summers is teaching four courses this semester, including General Education 1120: “The Political Economy of Globalization” and an economics elective.

Student Daniel LaPointe said he expected Summers’ Tuesday remarks to be more extensive, noting the professor gave a much longer address when discussing the September murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Logan Ashby, another student, called Summers’ statement a “thin concession” that “doesn’t ease any curiosities from myself.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a former Harvard Law School professor, urged the university to cut all ties with Summers. “If he had so little ability to distance himself from Jeffrey Epstein even after all that was publicly known about Epstein’s sex offenses involving underage girls, then Summers cannot be trusted to advise our nation’s politicians, policymakers, and institutions, or teach a generation of students at Harvard or anywhere else,” Warren told CNN.

Harvard announced it would launch an investigation into Summers’ relationship with Epstein, according to The Crimson. The university declined to comment on whether Summers’ status had changed following his announcement.

Trump orders investigation

President Donald Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Epstein’s relationships with notable Democrats, including Summers, former President Bill Clinton, tech investor Reid Hoffman, and bank JPMorgan Chase. Bondi assigned Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton to the matter.

Summers previously served as Treasury Secretary under Clinton from 1999 to 2001 and as Harvard president from 2001 to 2006, resigning under pressure amid multiple controversies including suggesting men may perform better in sciences due to genetic differences from women. He served as director of President Barack Obama‘s National Economic Council and currently holds a tenured professorship at Harvard.

Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to state charges in Florida of soliciting prostitution from a minor, serving 13 months in county jail. He was arrested in July 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges and died by suicide in a Manhattan jail cell weeks later.

Should universities allow professors to continue teaching after revelations of close relationships with convicted sex offenders?

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