The progressive academic and popular philosophy professor Cornet West announced his resignation from Harvard University, claiming that the historic school is suffering from 'spiritual rot'.

West's departure from Harvard was first broadcast on Twitter when the Baptist African-American professor tweeted his letter to a significant amount of attention. "This is my candid letter of resignation to my Harvard Dean," West tweeted. "I try to tell the unvarnished truth about the decadence in our market-driven universities! Let us bear witness against this spiritual rot."

In the letter, West points to many issues that linger around his former employer, Harvard Divinity School. These include the "disarray of a scattered curriculum, the disenchantment of talented yet deferential faculty, and the disorientation of students." West also noted the school's propensity for performative expressions of race, describing them as "the shadow of Jim Crow...cast in its new glittering form expressed in the language of superficial diversity." Harvard further cemented these issues for West by promoting anti-Palestinian bias and an ongoing conflict regarding his ability to receive tenure. West had previously held tenure with Harvard during the 1990s, only to lose said tenure in 2002. When West returned to Harvard in 2017, he was offered a non-tenured position at Harvard Divinity.

West's departure is not a surprise. In an interview with The Boycott Times, West stated that when it came to the question of his tenure that "I can only take so much hypocrisy....can only take so much dishonesty." While staff and administration members were often multicultural and diverse, the faculty failed to capture that same level of diversification.

West has built up a legacy as an avid voice for left-leaning Democratic Socialist political ideas. He's made several appearances on cable news. He is often involved in debate with Robert P. George, a famous conservative academic and thinker in his own right.