Harvard pushes back on threat to cut federal funding over antisemitism on campus

A letter from the Trump administration was sent to Harvard University on Friday, calling for sweeping reforms to tackle antisemitism on campus. In response, a communiqué from the leadership of the Ivy League institution is now pushing back.

Reuters reported that the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, together with the U.S. General Services Administration, informed Harvard that they are reviewing whether to continue $255.6 million in contracts between the university, its affiliates, and the federal government, along with $8.7 billion in multi-year grant commitments.

To avoid the nearly $9 billion in potential funding cuts, Harvard was warned that “merit-based” admissions and hiring policies must be ensured, along with an audit of the student body, faculty and leadership regarding their views on diversity, according to the Times of Israel. 

“No government – regardless of which party is in power – should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” wrote Harvard President Alan Garber in response. 

Garber, who is Jewish, acknowledged that even though the university had already taken steps to address antisemitism over the past 15 months, they “still have much work to do,” adding that even he had experienced the antisemitism present on campus.

According to Reuters, Garber expressed his commitment to work with the federal government's antisemitism task force on the matter, but said the requirements demanded in the letter violated Harvard's First Amendment rights.

He also claimed that it “exceeds the statutory limits of the government’s authority under Title VI,” prohibiting discrimination against students based on their race, color or national origin.

The government has urged Harvard to take several actions, including ending recognition or funding of “any student group or club that endorses or promotes criminal activity, illegal violence, or illegal harassment,” halting diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, reforming “programs with egregious records of antisemitism or other bias,” and implementing a ban on face masks.

However, Garber cautioned, “These ends will not be achieved by assertions of power, unmoored from the law, to control teaching and learning at Harvard and to dictate how we operate,” adding, “The work of addressing our shortcomings, fulfilling our commitments, and embodying our values is ours to define and undertake as a community.”

The exchange prompted a lawsuit from the American Association of University Professors on Friday, challenging the proposed funding cuts. The group argued that Trump's administration has failed to follow the steps required under Title VI, which stipulates that notice must be given to both the university and Congress before any cuts can be implemented.

The plaintiffs wrote, “These sweeping yet indeterminate demands are not remedies targeting the causes of any determination of noncompliance with federal law. Instead, they overtly seek to impose on Harvard University political views and policy preferences advanced by the Trump administration and commit the University to punishing disfavored speech.”

Together with other Ivy League schools, including the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Brown, and Princeton, Harvard has been under the spotlight following extremist pro-Palestinian activism on campus.

Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman publicly posted a list of 30 Harvard student groups that held Israel solely responsible for the atrocities of Oct. 7, 2023, suggesting that recruiters should be wary of employing graduates who have been involved in such extremist activism.

However, another 17 Harvard groups  – along with some 500 faculty and staff and 3,000 additional signatories – signed a counter-statement condemning the anti-Israel letter as “completely wrong and deeply offensive,” according to the Harvard Crimson. 

The controversy prompted research into employer concerns. A survey of 1,268 business leaders undertaken by Intelligent.com in May 2024 revealed that one in five business leaders were less likely to hire pro-Palestinian protesters.

They cited concerns that such employees may exhibit confrontational behavior (63%), be too political (59%), lack adequate education (24%), and even be dangerous (40%). 

Former Harvard President Claudine Gay stepped down from her position after she was taken to task before Congress regarding the failure to rein in antisemitism at the institution.

Gay refused to give a definitive “yes” or “no” answer when asked if calling for the genocide of Jews violated Harvard’s codes of conduct regarding bullying and harassment. Instead, she expressed concern about maintaining the right to free speech.

Alumni groups have either praised or decried Harvard's defiance, with some encouraging the leadership to “legally contest and refuse to comply with unlawful demands that threaten academic freedom and university self-governance,” and supporting the decision not to yield to “bullying and authoritarian whims.”

Some concern has also been raised that the government is conflating support for Palestinian rights with sympathy for Hamas.

The Harvard Jewish Alumni Alliance, which was established to “protect the students, faculty, and staff of the Harvard Jewish community,” following the post-Oct. 7 fall-out, rejected Gerber’s statements.

“Harvard declares it will resist changes to its governance, but where’s the statement outlining what it WILL do instead to fight antisemitism?”