Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will not be teaching at Harvard Law School in January 2019, the school informed students Monday.
In an email obtained by CNN, Catherine Claypoole, the associate dean and dean for academic and faculty affairs at the Harvard Law School, informs students that Kavanaugh “indicated that he can no longer commit to teaching his course in January Term 2019, so the course will not be offered.”
RELATED | The Point: Washington holds its breath as the FBI investigates Kavanaugh
Kavanaugh was scheduled to teach a class in the winter term, according to a source familiar with the matter. However, the source could not confirm the reason Kavanaugh would not be teaching at the school in 2019 beyond the statement sent out by school officials that he could “no longer commit to teaching his course.” It was not immediately clear if Kavanaugh dropped out due to anticipation that he would be serving on the Supreme Court.
Sitting Supreme Court Justices often teach courses affiliated with universities during the summer months. Former Justice Anthony Kennedy taught a class in Salzburg, Austria, for years that was run my the McGeorge School of Law. Last summer, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg served as a guest lecturer of Loyola University’s Rome Study Law Abroad Program, and Justice Neil Gorsuch travelled to Italy to teach at a program run by the George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School.
Harvard Law School representatives did not immediately return a request for comment from CNN seeking a specific reason why Kavanaugh felt he could not commit to teaching the course.
RELATED | Poll: Nearly half of voters say Kavanaugh shouldn’t be confirmed
By late Monday, more than 800 Harvard Law School alumni had signed a letter calling for the school to rescind Kavanaugh’s lecturer appointment.
“HLS must send a clear message that it takes sexual violence seriously,” the letter reads, and adds that the accusations made against Kavanaugh, including those by Christine Blasey Ford of sexual and physical assault, are “credible and grave.”
“They seriously call into question his character and morality,” the letter reads, “and should disqualify him from a lifetime appointment as a Supreme Court Justice” and a Harvard Law School lecturer.
“We believe that Judge Kavanaugh’s appointment as an HLS lecturer sends a message to law students, and in particular female students, that powerful men are above the law, and that obstructive, inappropriate behavior will be rewarded,” the letter reads. “HLS would be tarnished to have him on campus in any position of authority.”
