Harvard University declares it 'will not comply' with Trump administration demands

by jcsullivan24

Since President Donald Trump took office, scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have been ordered to cancel business trips and stop disseminating information to the public, research grants have been drastically reduced , and research funding programs are being abolished , raising concerns that the 'attacks from the Trump administration' on scientific research in the United States will harm the nation. Harvard University has also received a list from the federal government that is 'necessary to maintain Harvard's financial relationship with the federal government,' but Harvard has indicated its intention to reject these requests.

The Promise of American Higher Education - Harvard University President
https://www.harvard.edu/president/news/2025/the-promise-of-american-higher-education/

(PDF file)Dear Dr. Garber:
https://www.harvard.edu/research-funding/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2025/04/Letter-Sent-to-Harvard-2025-04-11.pdf

Harvard won't comply with the Trump administration's demands — Harvard Gazette
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2025/04/harvard-wont-comply-with-demands-from-trump-administration/

Since Donald Trump took office as president, scientists have come under increasing pressure, with the termination of research support programs and orders on research content, among other things. In response, it has been reported that about 75% of American scientists are considering quitting their jobs or moving abroad.

The Trump administration is also conducting investigations into more than 50 universities, and Columbia University, for example, has adopted a disciplinary policy and has been informed that it will lose federal funding if it does not neutralize academic departments targeted by the administration. In response to this situation, top American scientists who are members of the National Academy of Sciences , the National Academy of Engineering , and the National Academy of Medicine have issued an open letter warning that 'The Trump Administration is slashing funding to scientific institutions, cutting grants to scientists and funding to laboratories, and impeding international scientific collaboration. The funding cuts are forcing research institutions to suspend research (including research into treatments for new diseases), lay off researchers, and stop enrolling students in graduate programs that are the pipeline for the next generation of scientists.'

Scientists, including Nobel Prize winners, warn in an open letter that the Trump administration's cuts to scientific research funding will deal a devastating blow to America's accumulated scientific and technological achievements - GIGAZINE

On April 11, 2025, Harvard University received a letter from federal government officials outlining their demands as the basis for a 'basics of a memorandum of understanding to maintain Harvard's financial relationship with the federal government.' The preamble of the letter reads, 'America has invested in the operation of Harvard University because academic discovery and academic excellence are valuable to the nation. But that investment is only meaningful if Harvard University adheres to federal civil rights laws and fosters an environment that fosters ideologically unconstrained intellectual creativity and academic rigor. Harvard University has in recent years failed to meet both the intellectual and civil rights conditions that justify federal investment. But we appreciate your stated commitment to remedying these failures and welcome your cooperation in helping Harvard University restore its promise.'

The main demands made by the government are as follows:

1: Reforming governance and leadership
- Establish clear authority and accountability structures, concentrating power in tenured professors and senior leadership dedicated to the academic mission.
-Reducing student power and the influence of non-tenured faculty.

2: Meritocracy-based hiring and admission reform
- Abolish all preferential treatment based on race, skin color, religion, sex, or national origin, and adopt and implement a hiring policy based on meritocracy.
- Enrolment data will be shared with the federal government and will undergo a comprehensive federal audit over the course of the reform period until the end of 2028.

3: Reforming international admissions
Reform international student recruitment, screening, and admissions processes to prevent the admission of students who are hostile to American values and institutions as enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, and who support terrorism and anti-Semitism.

In particular, the Trump administration is demanding that Harvard University abolish diversity programs that increase the number of students and employees from certain countries, regions, and races. Other government demands include 'auditing' the research data of students and faculty, and 'curtailing the powers' of certain students and faculty for ideological reasons.

In response to the letter from the government, Harvard University responded on April 14, 2025, stating that 'accepting these demands would allow federal control,' and expressed its intention not to accept the government's demands. Harvard University stated that it had conveyed through its legal counsel that it would 'not accept the proposed settlement,' pointing out that the government's demands violate its rights under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and exceed the government's authority.

'Universities are not giving up their independence or waiving their constitutional rights,' Harvard President Alan Gerber said in a statement. 'No government, regardless of which party is in power, should dictate what private colleges and universities can teach, who they can enroll or hire, or what fields of research and inquiry they can pursue.'

After Harvard University rejected the government's request, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it would freeze $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contracts to Harvard University. Harvard University has posted a statement on its website praising its researchers and their research, stating that 'research drives progress,' and has highlighted the significance of research and the problem of cuts to research funding.