Former Harvard University president Larry Summers has announced an immediate leave of absence from his teaching duties at Harvard amid a growing scrutiny over his alleged relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Summers, who once led the university and later returned to teach economics, has decided to stop teaching as Harvard reopens an investigation into his ties with Epstein.He will also step away from his role as the director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Centre for Business and Government at Harvard Kennedy School. According to The Crimson, Larry Summers’s spokesperson said on November 19, 2025, that his co-instructors will finish the remaining three class sessions of the current semester.“His co-teachers will complete the remaining three class sessions of the courses he has been teaching with them this semester, and he is not scheduled to teach next semester,” the spokesperson remarked.The statement further reads:“Mr. Summers has decided it’s in the best interest of the Centre for him to go on leave from his role as Director as Harvard undertakes its review.”Brian Eastwood @BrianEastwood_XLINKFormer President of Harvard, Larry Summers, has announced he’s going on leave now that the university has started an investigation into his ties with Jeffrey Epstein. He says he’s ashamed of his connection with Epstein and has resigned from OpenAI’s board of directors.Larry Summers had previously declared that he would want a step back from the public commitments, but still intended to remain in the classroom. However, following the public pressure due to the release of his correspondence with Epstein, he had to reverse the course.Harvard University has since publicly confirmed that they are conducting a review of the newly released Epstein-related documents to assess any institutional or individual accountability, as reported by CNN.Leaked emails reveal reportedly close communication between Larry Summers and Jeffrey EpsteinThe email controversy stemmed from a series of allegedly internal communications between Summers and Jeffrey Epstein, which the U.S. House Oversight Committee released. The emails continued until 2019, as per the BBC.In one of the messages from November 2018, Epstein had referred to himself as Larry’s “wing man”, as reported by the outlet. In other email exchanges, Larry Summers sought personal advice from Epstein about a romantic relationship he was involved in. Summers wrote in his response:"Think for now I'm going nowhere with her except economics mentor."In another email, as reported by the BBC, the former Harvard president confided in the financier about texting a woman and asked him whether his message should convey gratitude or an apology, given his marital status. Summers wrote:“Am I thanking her or being sorry re my being married. I think the former”.The emails also involve Larry Summers’s wife, Elisa New, a poet and Harvard professor. In a 2015 message, she thanked Epstein for facilitating financial support for a poetry project. As per WBRC News, she wrote that his support “changed everything for me … that you are rooting for me and thinking about me."Epstein reportedly visited Harvard more than 40 times after his 2008 conviction and had connections to a research centre on campus, according to Associated Press. The newly released correspondence prompted Harvard to reopen its investigation into not only Summers but also other affiliates named in the Epstein documents. As per a CNBC report, Larry Summers expressed deep remorse over his communications with Epstein. He described his decision to maintain contact with Epstein as “misguided,” adding he was “deeply ashamed” of it.