Protesters urge Harvard not to make a deal with Trump during an April 12 rally. Photo: Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Harvard University has rejected the Trump administration’s proposal to keep $9 billion in federal funds flowing and will “not negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights,” university president Alan Garber wrote Monday.
Why it matters: Harvard is one of many elite universities for which the Trump administration is reviewing federal funding for research grants and other programs. While that effort is officially about fighting antisemitism, Garber wrote that the demands are really about imposing “direct governmental regulation” of higher education.
- The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
State of play: Several universities have been negotiating with the government to avoid funding cuts.
- Columbia University has complied with several of Trump’s demands and is still negotiating an agreement that could give the government considerable influence over the university, per the NYT.
- Harvard is the most prominent example of a university outright rejecting the demands.
Driving the news: Garber argued the administration’s demands violated Harvard’s First Amendment rights.
- “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,” he wrote.
- He also accused the administration of risking “the health and well-being of millions of individuals” as well as the United States’ “economic security” by threatening funding for research into diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, as well as technologies like AI and quantum computing.
Zoom in: The Trump administration’s April 11 letter to Garber included a series of demands, including a third-party audit of each Harvard department for “viewpoint diversity.”
- Other demands include ensuring hiring, promotion and admissions decisions are merit-based and not based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin”; rejecting international applicants who are “hostile to American values”; getting a third-party audit of various Harvard schools for antisemitism; and submitting quarterly reports to the federal government through 2028 showing they’re implementing the reforms listed in the letter.
- Cambridge officials and residents rallied Saturday, calling for Harvard to reject the federal government’s demands, the Boston Globe reported.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated throughout with additional details and context.
