Yale Professor Removed from Teaching Amid Review of Emails with Jeffrey Epstein
Yale University has placed computer science professor David Gelernter on leave from teaching duties while the school reviews a series of emails he exchanged with Jeffrey Epstein between 2009 and 2015. The correspondence, recently released by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of its “Epstein Library,” includes messages in which Gelernter described a female student to Epstein as a “small goodlooking blonde” while recommending her for a role in his startup.
The email in question, dated October 11, 2011, paints a picture of a student Gelernter said would be a “perfect editoress” for the project. He noted her background in fashion, her leadership of a campus magazine, and her connections-all while highlighting her appearance. The student, he said, had interned at Vogue, was an art major, and was “completely connected.”
That description, and the tone in which it was delivered, has sparked concern-especially given Epstein’s criminal history. While Gelernter has defended the email, saying it was written before he was aware of Epstein’s crimes, the university is now conducting a formal review into his conduct.
In a message sent last week to Yale’s dean of engineering, Jeffrey Brock, Gelernter stood by his decision to include personal details in the recommendation, claiming it was necessary to capture Epstein’s attention. “This one was obsessed with girls… and if I hadn’t said what I did in that letter 10-odd years ago, he would certainly have called me & asked for a lot more aesthetic detail,” Gelernter wrote. “So long as I said nothing that dishonored her in any conceivable way, I’d have told him more or less what he wanted.”
He continued, “She was smart, charming & gorgeous. Ought I to have suppressed that info?
Never! I’m very glad I wrote the note.”
Gelernter also told his students that the woman in question had expressed interest in working for Epstein, specifically on the financial side of his private bank. He said he had no knowledge at the time of Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor and emphasized that the student had become a friend to both him and his wife, even staying at their home.
Yale, however, has taken the matter seriously. A university spokesperson confirmed that Gelernter has been removed from teaching his computer science class while the investigation is ongoing.
“The university does not condone the action taken by the professor or his described manner of providing recommendations for his students,” the spokesperson said. “The professor’s conduct is under review.”
The spokesperson also noted that Gelernter had “both acknowledged and defended this communication and the action he took in connection with the communication.”
Gelernter has not responded to requests for comment.
The professor is a prominent figure in the tech world, best known for his 1991 book Mirror Worlds, which predicted the rise of digital environments that would eventually resemble what we now know as the modern internet. His career was famously interrupted in 1993 when he was seriously injured by a mail bomb sent by Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber. The attack left him with permanent injuries to his right hand and eye.
The emails released by the DOJ reveal that Gelernter and Epstein were in frequent contact over the years, with Gelernter’s name appearing in 563 entries within the Epstein Library. The two discussed various business ventures and arranged multiple meetings, often in New York City. In one exchange, an assistant of Epstein’s even floated the idea of him taking a helicopter to New Haven to visit Gelernter.
The tone of their correspondence ranged from professional to disturbingly casual. In one 2011 email, Gelernter painted a vivid image of Paris in the spring, referencing the city’s architecture, cars, and women.
Epstein responded in kind, adding references to streetwalkers and crepes. Gelernter replied with a literary nod, asking Epstein if he had read Irwin Shaw’s The Girls in Their Summer Dresses-a short story about men observing women on the streets of New York.
These exchanges occurred well after Epstein’s 2008 conviction in Florida, where he pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution and served 13 months in jail. He was later arrested in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges and died by suicide in jail a month later.
As the university’s review continues, the spotlight remains on how institutions handle historical relationships with Epstein and the ethical lines crossed by those who maintained contact with him. For now, Gelernter’s future in the classroom remains uncertain.