Harvard University has $2.2 billion in funding frozen after defying Trump administration

Harvard University is being hit with a freeze on $2.2 billion worth of funding after it defied the US president Donald Trump’s administration.

Last week, the Ivy League university in Massachusetts was sent a list of demands by The White House which it claimed served the purpose of fighting anti-semitism on its campus and included changes to the institution’s hiring, admissions and teaching, including diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes.

According to the New York Times, some demands included, “reporting students to the federal government who are ‘hostile’ to American values” and “ensuring each academic department is ‘viewpoint diverse’.”

It comes despite the government claiming it advocates free speech.

On Monday (14 April) Harvard became the first elite university to refuse to bow to pressure from the government and reject its demands.

In a letter, written by Harvard’s legal team, the university announced it would not be meeting the government’s demands.

“The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government. Accordingly, Harvard will not accept the government’s terms as an agreement in principle.”

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Within hours of receiving that letter, the Trump administration immediately froze $2.2 billion (£1.6 billion) in funding for Harvard University, as well as $60m in contracts.

In a press release, the task force responsible, under the U.S. Department of Education, wrote: “Harvard’s statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation's most prestigious universities and colleges – that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws.”

The university has received support over its stance from former US president Barack Obama.

“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,” Obama said in a statement.

“Let’s hope other institutions follow suit.”

Meanwhile, at fellow Ivy League university Yale, 876 faculty members penned a letter to their own leadership outlining their support for standing up against Trump.

“We stand together at a crossroads. American universities are facing extraordinary attacks that threaten the bedrock principles of a democratic society, including rights of free expression, association, and academic freedom. We write as one faculty, to ask you to stand with us now.”

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