WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has issued a list of demands Harvard University must meet as a condition for receiving almost $9 billion in grants and contracts, federal money that is being threatened during an investigation into campus antisemitism.
In a letter to Harvard’s president on Thursday, three federal agencies outlined demands described as necessary for a “continued financial relationship” with the government. It’s similar to a demand letter that prompted changes at Columbia University under the threat of billions of dollars in cuts.
The letter describes Harvard’s federal money as a taxpayer investment that’s based on performance. Harvard has “fundamentally failed to protect American students and faculty from antisemitic violence and harassment” and must take immediate action to keep its funding, the letter said.
Harvard confirmed it received the letter.
The letter calls for a ban on face masks, a demand that was also made at Columbia and targets pro-Palestinian protesters who have sometimes worn masks to hide their identities. Harvard also must clarify its campus speech policies that limit the time, place and manner of protests and other activities.
Academic departments at Harvard that “fuel antisemitic harassment” must be reviewed and changed to address bias and improve viewpoint diversity, the letter said. It does not single out any campus department or order a change in leadership, as Trump administration officials did for Columbia’s Middle East studies department.
The demands are generally less prescriptive than the Columbia ultimatum, mostly calling for broad changes focused on “lasting, structural reforms,” the letter said. It also provides no deadline, while Columbia was given about a week to comply.
Some alumni are urging Harvard to push back. Jane Sujen Bock, an alumna and board member on the group Coalition for a Diverse Harvard, said the university’s $50 billion endowment gives it a unique position to resist President Donald Trump’s administration.
“If Harvard doesn’t fight back as students are getting snatched off the street and the Trump administration tries to dictate what is said and taught on campus, who will?” Sujen Bock said in a statement.
Some others support the move. Alexander “Shabbos” Kestenbaum, a graduate of Harvard Divinity School who is suing the university over campus antisemitism, said Trump’s Republican administration is right to threaten the funding.
“In the same way that the federal government threatened to withhold funds from racist school districts that refused to integrate, the power of the purse is the last tool available to coerce Harvard to treat all its students with equality and justice,” Kestenbaum wrote in an opinion piece for The Crimson student newspaper.
The letter calls for firmer enforcement of existing discipline policies and a report on all actions taken in response to antisemitism since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.
Other demands align with Trump’s political agenda but appear less directly connected to the investigation on antisemitism.
The letter includes orders to adopt “merit-based” admissions and hiring policies and to remove any preferences based on race, religion, sex or other characteristics. Harvard also must work to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs that teach students and faculty to “make snap judgments about each other based on crude race and identity stereotypes,” the letter said.
The letter separately says Harvard must comply with a federal law requiring the disclosure of foreign gifts and contracts, a priority of some Republicans in Congress who have raised concerns about Chinese influence at U.S. schools.
It was sent by officials at the General Services Administration, the Education Department and the Health and Human Services Department.
Federal officials notified Harvard on Monday that the university faces a “comprehensive review” to determine its eligibility to receive $255 million in contracts and more than $8 billion in grants.
Harvard President Alan Garber responded with a campus message saying the school had “devoted considerable effort to addressing antisemitism” and would provide a full accounting to the government.
Harvard is among several schools to have its federal money threatened by the Trump administration. Brown University became the latest on Thursday as the government paused $510 million in grants and contracts over the school’s response to antisemitism.
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Associated Press reporter Michael Casey contributed to this report from Boston.
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