Harvard Refuses Trump Administration Governance Demands, Risks Billions in Funding

(MENAFN) Harvard University announced on Monday that it has refused demands from the Trump administration to implement significant changes to its governance, hiring, and admissions practices, even though billions of dollars in federal funding could be jeopardized by this decision.

Harvard University President Alan M. Garber stated in a letter to the Harvard community, "We have informed the administration through our legal counsel that we will not accept their proposed agreement. The University will not negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights."

Garber further argued that "the administration's prescription goes beyond the power of the federal government."

"Harvard is committed to fighting antisemitism and other forms of bigotry in its community," stated two attorneys representing the institution in a letter on Monday. They emphasized that "Harvard is not prepared to agree to demands that go beyond the lawful authority of this or any administration."

On Friday, officials from the Trump administration delivered a letter to Harvard University, calling for "meaningful governance reform and restructuring." They emphasized that "an investment is not an entitlement." The correspondence further stated that "Harvard has in recent years failed to live up to both the intellectual and civil rights conditions that justify federal investment."

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