24 h. ago Harvard faculty members pledge 10% of their earnings to support the fight against Trump

‘These financial consequences are halting research, limiting graduate student enrollment, and stopping hiring of both faculty and staff,’ faculty writes in open letter

Politics

1 week ago The showdown between Harvard and the White House – day by day

After months of mounting pressure on the university to defend itself, Harvard rejected a series of Trump administration demands – here’s what happenedIt took Harvard University less than 72 hours to reject a series of demands put forth by the Trump administration, setting up a high-stakes showdown between the US’s wealthiest and oldest university and the White House.The swift rebuke on Monday came after weeks of mounting pressure from Harvard faculty, students, alumni, and the city of Cambridge, all urging the university to defend itself, and higher education as a whole, against what they saw as an unprecedented attack from Washington. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Obama backs Harvard as Yale faculty members support standing up to Trump

Harvard faces funding freeze as Yale faculty asks leadership ‘to resist and legally challenge any unlawful demands’US politics live – latest updatesBarack Obama has come out in support of Harvard after the Trump administration elected to cut $2bn of its federal grants after the Ivy League school in Massachusetts rejected what it said was an attempt at “government regulation” of the university.Meanwhile, faculty at Yale University – another prominent Ivy League institution – has asked its leadership “to resist and legally challenge any unlawful demands that threaten academic freedom and self-governance”. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Obama and Yale faculty back Harvard as Trump cuts $2bn, alleging antisemitism

Harvard faces a funding freeze as elite universities warn of growing threats to free inquiry and civil rightsUS politics live – latest updatesBarack Obama, Yale and other academic institutions have come out in support of Harvard after the Trump administration elected to cut $2bn of its federal grants after the Ivy League school in Massachusetts rejected what it said was an attempt at “government regulation” of the university.“Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions – rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect,” said a statement from Obama, the US president from 2009 to 2017. “Let’s hope other institutions follow suit.” Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Harvard University faculty sue to block Trump review of nearly $9bn in funding

Lawsuit filed along with motion for temporary restraining order calls threats an existential ‘gun to the head’Harvard University professors are suing to block the Trump administration’s review of nearly $9bn in federal contracts and grants awarded to the Ivy League school as part of a crackdown on what the White House says is antisemitism on college campuses.The Harvard faculty chapter of the American Association of University Professors and the national arm of the academic organization said in a lawsuit filed on Friday in a Boston federal court that the administration was trying to unlawfully undermine academic freedom and free speech on the school’s campus. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Harvard faculty organize amid anxiety that the college will capitulate to Trump

Elite schools like Harvard weigh the costs of standing up to Trump as some, such as Princeton, signal it won’t concedeThe day after the Trump administration announced a review of $9bn in federal contracts and grants with Harvard due to what it claimed was the university’s failure to combat antisemitism on campus, the university’s president, Alan Garber, sent an email to the Harvard community titled: Our resolve.“When we saw the Garber statement’s subject line, everybody thought: ‘Oh, great, Harvard’s going to stand up!” said Jane Sujen Bock, a board member of the Coalition for a Diverse Harvard, a group of alumni founded in 2016 amid a legal battle over affirmative action. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Harvard faculty organize amid anxiety university will capitulate to Trump

Harvard weighs costs of standing up to president as other elite schools, such as Princeton, signal they won’t concedeThe day after the Trump administration announced a review of $9bn in federal contracts and grants with Harvard due to what it claimed was the university’s failure to combat antisemitism on campus, the university’s president, Alan Garber, sent an email to the Harvard community titled: Our resolve.“When we saw the Garber statement’s subject line, everybody thought: ‘Oh, great, Harvard’s going to stand up!” said Jane Sujen Bock, a board member of the Coalition for a Diverse Harvard, a group of alumni founded in 2016 amid a legal battle over affirmative action. Continue reading...

Politics