Harvard University will not change its policies and practices in response to a fresh round of demands from the Trump administration, President Alan M. Garber announced on Monday, in a message titled “The Promise of American Higher Education.”
It’s the second time that the Trump administration has explicitly tried to force an institution’s hand, citing concerns about alleged antisemitism.
Garber’s refusal to comply contrasts with the approach taken by Columbia University — where administrators made concessions to try to restore $400 million in canceled federal grants and contracts.
The Details
Harvard received a new letter of demands from the Trump administration on Friday, which Garber released publicly on Monday. Much of it, he said in a message to the campus community, amounted to “direct governmental regulation of the ‘intellectual conditions’ at Harvard.”
The five-page document implored Harvard to, among other things:
- Review “all existing and prospective faculty” for plagiarism.
- Share all hiring and admissions data with the federal government for audit until 2028.
- Reform international admissions “to prevent admitting students” who appear hostile “to American values.”
- Conduct an audit of “viewpoint diversity” among students and employees, and submit it to the government by the end of this year.
- Commission an external review of programs “that most fuel antisemitism harassment or reflect ideological capture,” including the Divinity School, the Graduate School of Education, and the Center for Middle Eastern Studies.
- Shutter all diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
- Punish students who participated in certain pro-Palestinian protests over the past two years.
Garber said that the directives violate Harvard’s First Amendment rights, exceed the federal government’s Title VI authority, and threaten the university’s values.
The Trump administration’s antisemitism task force announced a review of Harvard’s federal funding on March 31. On April 3, the task force sent the university an initial list of changes it needed to make “to remain a responsible recipient of federal taxpayer dollars,” including the elimination of DEI efforts and the adoption of “merit-based” admissions and hiring policies.
In his Monday announcement, Garber said the university had already taken steps to fight antisemitism and would continue to do so.
However, he wrote: “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.”
The Backdrop
Over the past six weeks, a sparring match has emerged between major research universities and the Trump administration, with federal agencies holding back grant funding over claims that institutions have failed to combat antisemitism. Garber’s letter represents Harvard’s initial attempt to punch back.
Meanwhile, Columbia officials have faced mounting challenges since announcing changes to try to appease the federal government, including overhauling student-disciplinary procedures and placing its Middle East studies department under the supervision of a senior vice provost.
All of the university’s National Institutes of Health funding was reportedly frozen this month. And the Trump administration is considering pursuing a consent decree, in which the university would agree to a years-long monitoring process overseen by a judge.
What to Watch
Amid higher education’s recent reputational woes, many scholars have pressed for better public engagement on how colleges contribute to science, discovery, and economic development.
Garber’s letter emphasized that the 70-plus-year partnership between research universities and the federal government has spawned life-changing scientific advances. Notably, Harvard’s homepage features the university’s research on new treatments for depression and its development of devices for stroke survivors.
