Scott Quigley

Passionate about investing, building relationships, national security, and veterans. Brown-Army-Harvard MBA

[Wyatt Smith @wyatt_h_smith]

It’s that time of year when we talk about what we are grateful for, so let me tell you some stories about why we are building @upsmith...

[Scott Quigley @ScottNQuigley]

@wmsc0tt63 @RussCanRead @BillAckman To think Michael Bloomberg would be receiving the Medal of Honor. Blue Check mark too. SMH. Let’s all agree you should take a pause bud.

[Scott Quigley @ScottNQuigley]

Biden admin is not made up of serious people 🤡

[David Sacks @DavidSacks]

Two years ago, Biden excluded Tesla from the White House’s EV Summit and credited GM CEO Mary Barra with leading the EV revolution. “You changed the whole story, Mary,” he said. “You electrified the entire automobile industry.”

Today’s WSJ admits the whole thing was a bust.

[Bill Ackman @BillAckman]

I don’t always with @VivekGRamaswamy, but he is spot on here. Worth a couple of minutes of your time.

[Bill Ackman @BillAckman]

Please see my letter today to @Harvard governing boards of directors:

December 10, 2023

Dear Members of the Harvard Governing Boards:

In her short tenure as President, Claudine Gay has done more damage to the reputation of Harvard University than any individual in our nearly 500-year history.

Because of her failure to condemn the most vile and barbaric terrorism the world has ever seen, for supporting rather than condemning 34 Harvard-branded student organizations who hold Israel “entirely responsible” for Hamas’ barbaric acts, for failing to enforce Harvard’s own rules on student conduct, and for her other failures of leadership, President Gay catalyzed an explosion of antisemitism and hate on campus that is unprecedented in Harvard’s history.

In light of Harvard’s leadership position, President Gay’s mishandling of October 7th and its aftermath on campus have led to the metastasis of antisemitism to other universities and institutions around the world.

President Gay’s actions and inactions have gravely interfered with the ability of students to continue to learn at Harvard and for its faculty to teach and do research. Classes are continually disrupted by protesters who use bullhorns and other disruptive methods, and the offending students suffer no disciplinary action.

Literally, as I write this post, highly disruptive protests are underway inside Widener Library while students are trying to study for final exams and finish their term papers during the last two weeks of the semester.

As a result of President Gay’s failure to enforce Harvard’s own rules, Jewish students, faculty and others are fearful for their own safety as even the physical abuse of students remains unpunished.

President Gay’s absurd explanation for the lack of disciplinary action for the October 18th HBS incident was that the University cannot discipline students until the HUPD and FBI investigations are complete. To date, I am unaware of any disciplinary actions taken for the October 18th incident nearly two months later.

President Gay’s principal response to address antisemitism on campus was to set up a task force. Within a few weeks of its formation, @RabbiWolpe, the only rabbi on the task force, publicly announced his resignation from the committee. In an @X post, he explained:

“The short explanation is that both events on campus and the painfully inadequate testimony reinforced the idea that I cannot make the sort of difference that I had hoped.”

He later explained on news television that:

“I came to the conclusion that I was not going to be able to make the kinds of changes I thought Harvard needed,” saying the committee had “accountability without authority.”

President Gay’s failures since October 7th led to a Congressional investigation of her conduct. This outcome on its own is an incredible embarrassment to Harvard. I have been unable to identify any former Harvard president being the subject of a Congressional investigation since the establishment of the Congress in 1789.

President Gay’s entire testimony was abysmal. She was disrespectful and condescending to the Congress. She was a hostile witness, unwilling to answer direct questions from members.

In words that will forever live in infamy, President Gay’s response to the question:

“Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard’s rules regarding bullying or harassment?”

President Gay: “It depends on the context.”

My X post which shared the excerpt of the three university presidents’ testimony has been viewed more than 106 million times, and condemned in comments and reposted by more than 80,000 people from around the world.

President Gay’s testimony was also slammed by Harvard Hillel:

“President Gay’s failure to properly condemn this speech calls into question her ability to protect Jewish students on Harvard’s campus... President Gay’s testimony fails to reassure us that the University is seriously concerned about the antisemitic rhetoric pervasive on campus.”

And by her most liberal supporters:

Professor Emeritus Larry Tribe @tribelaw: “[Her] hesitant, formulaic, and bizarrely evasive answers were deeply troubling to me and many of my colleagues, students, and friends.”

President Gay’s failures have led to billions of dollars of cancelled, paused, and withdrawn donations to the university. I am personally aware of more than a billion dollars of terminated donations from a small group of Harvard’s most generous Jewish and non-Jewish alumni. I have been copied and blind copied on numerous letters and emails to the University from alums who have written scathing letters to Gay and/or the Board withdrawing donations.

President Gay’s actions and inactions have exposed Harvard to substantial legal liability due to alleged violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 putting at risk Harvard’s Federal funding, tax-exempt status, and creating the risk of substantial financial liability to the University from private plaintiffs.

President Gay’s Failed Leadership Did Not Begin with Her Presidency

During her tenure as Dean and now as president, Gay has squelched speech she disfavors while defending and thereby amplifying vile and threatening hate speech, exhibiting a remarkable double standard. In the words of Professor Steven Pinker:

“Claudine was technically correct that students can’t be punished for political chants, but when Harvard et al. have no prior credible commitment to academic freedom, institutional neutrality & viewpoint diversity, the born-again appeal to principle seems incriminating.”

Free speech deteriorated materially under Gay’s deanship and presidency as evaluated by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). Harvard’s free speech ranking has deteriorated each year over the last four academic years to a ranking of 0.00 or last out of 254 universities this past year. According to FIRE, Harvard is the only university with an “abysmal” speech climate. In my letter to the board of December 3rd, I quoted Harvard faculty I interviewed on the lack of free speech at Harvard. I encourage you to read what they had to say.

Gay has presided over discriminatory hiring practices at Harvard. The faculty have been told in no uncertain terms that candidates that do not meet DEI criteria will not be considered for certain faculty positions.

As Dean, Gay showed no respect for basic American legal principles when she fired Harvard Law School Professor Ronald Sullivan as residential dean for taking on the legal defense of Harvey Weinstein. President Gay should hope that someday when she needs counsel, she will be able to obtain quality representation for herself.

DEI and the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (OEDIB)

In recent weeks, I have learned a lot about DEI practices at Harvard and have come to the conclusion that the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, which was formed in 2019 under Dean Gay’s oversight and vision the year after she became Dean of FAS, is none of those things. In fact, the actions of the OEDIB have led to preferences and favoritism for certain racial, gender, and LGBTQ+ groups at the expense of other groups, and made some members of the Harvard community feel included at the expense of others that are excluded.

When I mentioned in my December 3rd letter to President Gay that among others, Jewish, Asian, Indian and straight white male students were excluded from the benefits of the ODEIB office, her solution to this problem, which she outlined in an email to the Harvard community, was to propose that the OEDIB include Jewish students in some manner. This is not right answer.

The OEDIB is a major contributing source of discriminatory practices on campus and highly damaging to the culture and sense of community at Harvard. It is beyond repair and should be shut down.

I do not mean to suggest whatsoever that the goal of a diverse university that is welcoming for all should be abandoned. Rather, the OEDIB is not the solution as it is fundamentally an organization with political objectives that are inconsistent with achieving true diversity and inclusion at Harvard.

The OEDIB’s definition of equity is also inconsistent with Harvard excellence. Over its nearly 500-year history, Harvard has been a beacon for excellence based on the equality of opportunity it offers, not by promoting a system or ideology which forces or requires the equality of outcomes.

On the Decision to Terminate President Gay

Last Thursday, December 8th, a bipartisan coalition of 72 members of Congress issued a public letter to the Harvard governing boards demanding President Gay’s termination. It is rare that our Congress has been able to accomplish anything in recent years in a bipartisan fashion, let alone in a matter of days. Congress’ decisive action here speaks volumes.

In the last 24 hours, a petition has been circulating among the Harvard community which asks the board to fire President Gay. I expect it may already have thousands of signatures.

As Charlie Munger of blessed memory advised: “Invert, always invert,” i.e., turn a situation or a problem upside down to better understand and solve it. Using Mr. Munger’s rubric, let’s assume that the office of president at Harvard were vacant.

Knowing what we know now, would Harvard consider Claudine Gay for the position? The answer is definitively “No.” With this simple thought experiment, the board’s decision on President Gay could not be more straightforward.

The Search Process for a New President

I was recently accused by several bloggers and other commentators of being a racist when I shared that the board, in the search process that led to the hiring of President Gay, would not consider a candidate for president that did not meet DEI criteria. I have confirmed now from multiple sources that the search committee that led to President Gay’s appointment excluded non-DEI eligible candidates from the process.

To set the record straight, my criticism of President Gay would be unchanged if her gender, race, and/or LGBTQ+ status were different.

As I am sure the board is well aware, a search process which excludes potential candidates based on their racial, gender, sexual preference or other similar criteria is inherently a discriminatory and/or racist process, which is illegal under the law.

In the likely event that Harvard launches a new search process for president, to state the obvious, all candidates regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, and/or political views should be considered for the position.

The board also needs to also launch a detailed investigation into discriminatory hiring practices at the University, and put in place measures to ensure that these practices never again occur.

The events of the last two months have taken a devastating toll on the Harvard brand and its community at large. With the right leadership and governance, Harvard can be restored to its historic stature as one of the world's leading research and educational institutions comprised of a diverse and welcoming community which fosters free speech, encourages diverse viewpoints, and provides an environment that preserves academic freedom.

I am highly confident that Harvard, the governing boards, and the Harvard community at large will greatly benefit and learn from this experience. As I often say, experience is making mistakes and learning from them. The mistakes that were made that led to recent events began many years, if not decades, ago.

Let’s make sure that we use this opportunity to fundamentally repair our beloved institution for it is incumbent upon us as the current stewards of Harvard. We are all collectively responsible for the currently impaired status of our historically esteemed institution.

I am grateful for the role all of you serve on behalf of the entire Harvard community. Thank you for your service.

I would be delighted to help the governing boards and Harvard in any way that I can. Please call upon me at any time.

Sincerely,

William A. Ackman, A.B. 1988, MBA 1992

[Scott Quigley @ScottNQuigley]

@BrownUniversity please heed this message.

[Fareed Zakaria @FareedZakaria]

America’s top universities should abandon their long misadventure into politics, retrain their gaze on their core strengths and rebuild their reputations as centers of research and learning.

My take:

[Scott Quigley @ScottNQuigley]

This applies to all elite universities in America today. Now is the time to snuff it out.

[Bill Ackman @BillAckman]

A bipartisan demand from @EliseStefanik and @RepMoskowitz for the removal of Presidents Gay, Magill, and Kornbluth.

Consider the severe reputational damage the three continue to inflict on our most important American institutions of higher learning for each hour they continue to serve in their respective roles.

Their brief tenures in office need to end now. Look how much damage each has done in only six to 18 months.

This moment in history creates an opportunity for a complete reboot of the philosophies, ideologies, politics, bureaucracy, and restrictions on free speech that led to the current situation.

This is not just about antisemitism. The problem is much deeper and more entrenched. Antisemitism is the canary in the coal mine who dies as the light of democracy is at risk of being snuffed out.

And it is not just about the universities. DEI and the related politics, violations of basic American principles, and the restrictions on free speech and expression have invaded our government institutions, non-profits, and Corporate America under the guise of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

These words have been weaponized to achieve power and political objectives for certain favored groups at the expense of others. There is nothing fair, inclusive, or diverse about this movement.

Similar movements have succeeded in other countries many times over a long history.

The United States has been a refuge for those who have fled once democratic regimes that were taken over by these movements.

If we don’t work to preserve our democracy, be forewarned, there will be no other place to go.

[Bill Ackman @BillAckman]

Some advice for students:

If an organization of which you are a member puts out a public statement you disagree with, you have a few choices.

You can:

Stay silent and have the entire world conclude that you stand by the statement.

Convince the other members of the group to withdraw or otherwise modify the statement so that it can reflect the views of all members.

Or you can resign in protest.

Claiming that you had no involvement or knowledge of the statement, but remaining a member of the organization without it withdrawing the statement is perhaps the worst of the alternatives, as it appears to simply be an attempt to avoid accountability while continuing to be a member of the organization.

If you were managing a business, would you hire someone who blamed the despicable violent acts of a terrorist group on the victims?

I don’t think so.

Would you hire someone who was a member of a school club who issued a statement blaming lynchings by the KKK on their victims?

I don’t think so.

Would you want them to be an associate at your law firm?

Of course not.

It is not harassment to seek to understand the character of the candidates that you are considering for employment.

In fact, as CEO, it is your obligation to do so on behalf of all of the other employees in your company, the clients and customers it serves, and all of your other stakeholders.

I have heard that the above inquiry has made some members of the groups which put out the statement feel ‘unsafe,’ a word that is sadly overused in universities today.

Ask yourself how unsafe it would feel in Israel beginning Saturday early morning and how unsafe it feels now?

Ask yourself how unsafe your Jewish classmates feel when 32 clubs published a statement assigning sole responsibility for the heinous, deathly acts of terrorists to Israel and the Jews?

Experience is making mistakes and learning from them. If you have made a mistake, acknowledge it, and immediately correct your mistaken actions.

Public statements made by organizations of which you are a member can have a material negative impact on your reputation.

I have learned from experience that the best time to fix a mistake is now.

[Scott Quigley @ScottNQuigley]

@MohiniTangri @SchorOx @Harvard_Law “Muddled” ??? You are only making it worse for yourself. You should probably stop posting on social media until you get more clarity. Did you miss that class at HLS?

[Scott Quigley @ScottNQuigley]

@Nicole1515 @MEKowalski @ThomasSowell "I think he has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades,” former SECDEF Robert Gates says of Vice President Joe Biden in his book.

Obama’s SECDEF’s view is definitive. Add AFG withdrawal catastrophe to his record.

[Scott Quigley @ScottNQuigley]

@Biaggi4NY Did you sleep through contract law? Show some leadership and live up to your contractually obligated responsibilities.

[Scott Quigley @ScottNQuigley]

@ericareport Your initial tweet was so overtly racist that you should have just claimed your account was hacked or a parody account. This mea culpa makes it worse. I’d recommend finding a new profession outside of politics. You just very publicly fell face first into a career dead end sign.

[Scott Quigley @ScottNQuigley]

@JWishbon3 @ericareport Does a parody account post a mea culpa the following day?

[Scott Quigley @ScottNQuigley]

LFG!! @elonmusk Big win for the global public square and freedom of speech.

[Scott Quigley @ScottNQuigley]

@oliviadarocha @ABC6 @joerogan good call recently on never doing a gig on Block Island again.

[Wyatt Smith @wyatt_h_smith]

Our system is broken.

[Scott Quigley @ScottNQuigley]

@RoyCooperNC @Canes @NHL @Bmarch63 Roy, my man, you’re a Governor. Be better than a middle school trash talker. Congrats on the regular season win. Will Boston have a team in 10 years? Yes. Will Carolina? Probably not. You’ll always have the tobacco farm though, right?

[Scott Quigley @ScottNQuigley]

Biden: “I didn’t realize there are literally more bridges in Pittsburgh than any other city in the world,” the president added. “We’re going to fix them all. Not a joke.” Fact check: Pittsburgh is #4 with Hamburg, Amsterdam, and New York having more bridges.

[Scott Quigley @ScottNQuigley]

@upwithppl @roblew9013 @DeanPreston If you believe the purpose of US Courts’ is to “reflect the will of the majority of the American public,” you need to re-read the Constitution and Federalist No. 78.

[Scott Quigley @ScottNQuigley]

@seungminkim Only one of 60 signatures from Mass law enforcement officials in support of her candidacy came from a District Attorney. The other 10 Mass DA's declined to sign. ~90% of sitting DA's in Mass don't support her for AG. That also seems quite rare - and telling.