Stanford University President Jonathan Levin and Provost Jenny Martinez on Tuesday threw their support behind Harvard University’s decision to reject the Trump administration’s demands, which include hiring practices that eliminate preference based on race and audits to ensure all departments are “viewpoint diverse.”
In a statement of support for Harvard, Levin and Martinez wrote that while America’s universities are a source of knowledge creation, innovation, and economic growth, these strengths are built on the government’s investment but not on its control.
“Universities need to address legitimate criticisms with humility and openness,” Levin and Martinez wrote in the message. “But the way to bring about constructive change is not by destroying the nation’s capacity for scientific research, or through the government taking command of a private institution. Harvard’s objections to the letter it received are rooted in the American tradition of liberty, a tradition essential to our country’s universities, and worth defending.”
The Trump administration has accused Harvard and other elite universities of antisemitism in its handling of student protests related to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel. An April 11 letter from members of the Trump administration to Harvard outlined various demands that the university must fulfill to maintain federal access to federal funding, including changes to their governance and leadership structure, merit-based admissions reforms, and discontinuation of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, among other requirements.
“Harvard has in recent years failed to live up to both the intellectual and civil rights conditions that justify federal investment,” the letter stated.
On Monday, Harvard penned a response rejecting the requirements. The letter affirmed Harvard’s ongoing commitment to combating antisemitism and other forms of bigotry and questioned the legality of the demands.
“Harvard remains open to dialogue about what the university has done, and is planning to do, to improve the experience of every member of its community,” attorneys representing Harvard wrote in the letter. “But Harvard is not prepared to agree to demands that go beyond the lawful authority of this or any administration.”
Following Harvard’s response, federal officials said on Monday evening they would freeze over $2 billion in federal funds to the university and a $60-million contract. In a message posted on Truth Social today, President Donald Trump suggested that Harvard could lose its tax-exempt status, a classification given to universities and non-profit organizations that exempts them from paying federal income taxes. The determination is made by the Internal Revenue Service.
“Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting “Sickness?” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!”