The president of the University of French Polynesia, Louise Peltzer, who has been accused of plagiarism, says she will quit her post at the end of June.
La Depeche de Tahiti quotes her as saying that legally nobody could force her to go.
Mrs Peltzer says she has made her decision after months of media lynching which she says was skillfully orchestrated by a group of professors.
The dispute follows a letter signed by 26 researchers and teachers, which accused her of having published a study in 2000 which was in essence taken from a book written by the Italian author, Umberto Eco.
She has been at the helm of the university for six years after serving for six years as French Polynesia's minister of culture and higher learning.
