56 h. ago PHOTO COLLECTION: US Universities Federal Grants and Contracts Withheld

This is a photo collection curated by AP photo editors.

Culture

5 d. 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

1 week ago Trump administration issues demands on Harvard as conditions for billions in federal money

Some alumni want Harvard to resist Trump administration demands the university must meet to receive $9 billion in federal grants and contracts being threatened during an investigation into campus antisemitism

Politics

1 week 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

1 week 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

2 w. ago Who actually runs Columbia University? | Arjun Appadurai and Sheldon Pollock

Trustees aren’t academics – and they’re often political wolves in sheep’s clothing. We need reform to save the American university as we know itLate on Friday evening, the trustees of Columbia University announced that its interim president, Katrina Armstrong, was leaving her post.Six days earlier, she had convened an emergency meeting with 75 faculty members after the university had cravenly surrendered to the demands of the Trump administration in the hopes of recovering $400m in federal grants and contracts. The president and her staff called their predicament “heartbreaking” and sought to reassure faculty that academic freedom and departmental autonomy remained intact. Continue reading...

Culture

2 w. ago Trump officials to review $9bn in Harvard funds over antisemitism claims

Administration accuses university of failing to protect students and plans to look into federal grants and contractsThe Trump administration announced a review on Monday of $9bn in federal contracts and grants at Harvard University over allegations that it failed to address issues of antisemitism on campus.The multi-agency Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism said it will review the more than $255.6m in contracts between Harvard University, its affiliates and the federal government, according to a joint statement from the education department, the health department and the General Services Administration. The statement also says the review will include the more than $8.7bn in multi-year grant commitments to Harvard University and its affiliates. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump administration announces review of Harvard University’s federal contracts and grants – live

Education department announces review of Harvard’s $255.6m contracts and $8.7bn multi-year grant commitments amid allegations of antisemitism Immigration remains a strength for Donald Trump, but his handling of tariffs is getting more negative feedback, according to a poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. About half of US adults approve of Trump’s approach to immigration, the survey shows, but only about four in 10 have a positive view of the way he’s handling the economy and trade negotiations. The poll indicates that many Americans are still on board with Trump’s efforts to ramp up deportations and restrict immigration. But it also suggests that the Republican president’s threats to impose tariffs – which have been accompanied by tumbling consumer confidence and wild stock market swings – might be erasing his advantage on another issue that he made central to his winning 2024 campaign. The economy was a drag on then president Joe Biden, who saw th...

Politics

2 w. ago DOGE cuts will ‘in all probability’ increase the US deficit — by a lot: Report

The grant, contract and budget cuts in federal agencies, along with the crippling reductions of tens of thousands of government jobs, will “in all probability” end up increasing (by a lot), rather than decreasing the nation’s deficit, which has been the stated intent, notes a new report.

Politics

4 w. ago US universities face choice to surrender or fight back against Trump’s takeover

‘Extraordinary fear’ takes hold at universities as Trump campaign threatens investigations or loss of federal fundsThe Trump administration’s unprecedented pressure campaign on American higher education – which is forcing major universities to bow to its demands or risk investigations and the loss of millions of dollars in federal money – is so far facing little pushback from the schools affected.That campaign escalated earlier this month, when the US government cancelled $400m in federal contracts and grants to Columbia University. In a subsequent letter, representatives of three federal agencies said they would reconsider that freeze only if Columbia agreed to conditions including more aggressively disciplining students who engage in pro-Palestinian disruptions, planning “comprehensive” reform of the school’s admissions policies, and placing one of school’s area studies departments under “academic receivership” – meaning under the control of an outside chair. Continue reading...

Politics