Harvard University, for instance, has vigorously and fervently fought for its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs. This courageous position leaves almost $9 billion in federal money spared from the Trump administration’s wish of the federal funding. The White House has zeroed in on the elite university as a key battleground in its broader war on DEI efforts. This decision follows President Donald Trump’s return to office in January.
The Committee’s report claimed that the Trump administration imposed a number of draconian requirements on Harvard to receive any federal funding. These included ending DEI programs and preemptively screening international students for ideological issues. This new screening would be targeted at support for terrorism, anti-Semitic and anti-Israel attitudes.
In response to these demands, Harvard President Alan Garber conveyed his commitment to the university’s values in a note to the university community. He stated, “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.”
We’re glad to see the White House shining a spotlight on higher education institutions. This move is one piece of a multi-layer strategy to remix DEI programs nationwide. Such an approach would have considerable precedent in the recent actions taken against other universities. The Trump administration did the right thing by stopping all federal funding for Cornell University. Moreover, it zeroed out $400 million in federal funding for Columbia University due to its response to pro-Palestinian protests on campus. Unlike Columbia, which folded to every whim with the Trump administration, Harvard has decided to fight.
Harvard’s stance comes amid a growing trend where the White House has issued lists of demands to various universities linked to their federal funding. These changes proposed by the administration raise serious questions about academic freedom and the limits of government control over our institutions of higher education.