Harvard University will no longer comment on public matters that do not directly impact the university’s core functions.

The decision, announced Tuesday, comes after a period of significant upheaval at the prestigious Ivy League institution.

The new policy was developed by a working group formed in April to explore when Harvard should make public statements. The group concluded that the university has a “responsibility to speak out to protect and promote its core function,” which includes defending its autonomy and academic freedom when these are threatened.

“The university and its leaders should not, however, issue official statements about public matters that do not directly affect the university’s core function,” the working group said in its report.

The report from the working group emphasized that Harvard’s “integrity and credibility are compromised when the university speaks officially on matters outside its institutional area of expertise.”

The policy change follows the resignation of the first Black president in Harvard’s nearly 400-year history, Claudine Gay, who stepped down in January amidst debate about how the college deals with antisemitism and allegations of plagiarism.

Ms. Gay faced intense scrutiny after her initial public comments on the October 7 terror attack on Israel and her subsequent testimony before lawmakers on campus antisemitism.

Alan Garber, who has taken over as interim president following Ms. Gay’s departure, announced on Tuesday that the university has accepted the working group’s recommendations. These recommendations have also been endorsed by The Harvard Corporation, the university’s top governing body.

“The process of translating these principles into concrete practice will, of course, require time and experience, and we look forward to the work ahead,” Mr. Garber said, CNN reported.