LANSING, Mich. _ Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said Wednesday he will withdraw from a planned Harvard fellowship after a social media backlash and email and petition campaign opposing the appointment.
"I have informed the Harvard Kennedy School that I am turning down its offer" as senior research fellow, Snyder said on Twitter.
"It would have been exciting to share my experiences, both positive and negative; our current political environment and its lack of civility makes this too disruptive. I wish them the best."
News of the yearlong appointment with the school's Taubman Center for State and Local Government sparked outrage over the weekend from critics who cited Snyder's role in the Flint drinking water crisis.
Among those speaking out against the appointment are Piper Kerman, author of "Orange is the New Black," Flint activist Mari Copeny, known as "Little Miss Flint," and the magazine Current Affairs.
In announcing the appointment, the school said the Republican would share his "expertise in management, public policy and promoting civility."
Snyder was governor of Michigan from 2011 through 2018.
Flint's drinking water became contaminated with lead in April 2014, after a state-appointed emergency manager, as a cost-cutting move, switched the city's drinking water supply from Lake Huron water treated in Detroit to Flint River water treated at the city's drinking water plant.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has admitted a mistake in failing to require the addition of corrosion control chemicals as part of the treatment process. Lead leached into the drinking water from pipes, joints and fixtures, resulting in a spike in lead levels in Flint children.
The water switch has also been linked to outbreaks of Legionnaire's disease, connected with the deaths of 12 people.
