Dear Members of the Harvard Community,
I write to update you on the presidential task forces to combat antisemitism and anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bias. Over the past five months, grief, anger, and fear have taken a toll on members of our community as divisions on our campus have persisted. The University has responded to these challenges with consolidated safety and wellbeing resources, as well as new and expanded community supports compiled on the respective task force websites, while reaffirming rights and responsibilities on which our future efforts must necessarily build. But there is more to be done.
We must do much more to bridge the fissures that have weakened our sense of community, and the task forces, which have the full support of the University, will be critical to our success. The co-chairs and I have been working together to finalize membership and plan the work ahead. The names of the members of the task forces are appended here. Jared Ellias, Scott C. Collins Professor of Law, has been added to the leadership of the Presidential Task Force on Combating Antisemitism, replacing Raffaella Sadun, Charles E. Wilson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, who has decided to refocus her efforts on her research, teaching, and administrative responsibilities. Ali Asani, Murray A. Albertson Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Professor of Indo-Muslim and Islamic Religion and Cultures, has been added to the leadership of the Presidential Task Force on Combating Anti-Muslim and Anti-Arab Bias. Jared, Ali, and all of their fellow members are taking on difficult work under extraordinary pressure and public scrutiny. They are true University citizens, dedicated to strengthening our community now and in the future. I hope that you will join me in thanking them for their service.
In the coming weeks, the task forces will undertake initial outreach, information gathering, and research, including listening sessions, surveys, and historical analysis, to better understand the experiences of members of our community who have been disproportionately affected by the events of October 7 and their aftermath. Our work should be informed by the best evidence about the nature and severity of the problems we confront and about the impact of approaches that have been put to the test. Though the work of the task forces will take several months to complete, I have asked the co-chairs to send recommendations to the deans and me on a rolling basis so that we might consider, refine, and implement interventions, and to keep the community apprised as our work together proceeds.
We are accustomed to asking the most difficult questions and taking on the most complex problems. Those inclinations do more than spur our individual and collective efforts—they connect us to one another in fundamental ways. Despite our differences, what we share is far greater than what we do not. I know that we care enough about each other and our University to join together in ensuring that Harvard offers an environment in which Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Palestinian, and Arab students feel welcome and can thrive. We should expect nothing less.
Sincerely,
Alan M. Garber
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Presidential Task Force on Combating Antisemitism
Jared Ellias, co-chair
Scott C. Collins Professor of Law at Harvard Law School
Derek Penslar, co-chair
William Lee Frost Professor of Jewish History in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Danielle Allen
James Bryant Conant University Professor
Boaz Barak
Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Erica Newman-Corre
Student at Harvard Law School
Jesse M. Fried
Dane Professor of Law at Harvard Law School
Jerome Groopman
Dina and Raphael Recanati Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School
Nim Ravid
Student at Harvard College
Vicki Rosen
Professor of Developmental Biology at Harvard School of Dental Medicine
Andrew Teeter
Professor of Hebrew Bible at Harvard Divinity School
Sherri Charleston, advisor
Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer
Ara Gershengorn, advisor
University Attorney
Robin Glover, advisor
Associate Provost for Student Affairs
Jonah Steinberg, advisor
Executive Director Emeritus at Harvard Hillel
Presidential Task Force on Combating Anti-Muslim and Anti-Arab Bias
Ali Asani, co-chair
Murray A. Albertson Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Professor of Indo-Muslim and Islamic Religion and Cultures in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Wafaie Fawzi, co-chair
Richard Saltonstall Professor of Population Sciences, and Professor of Nutrition, Epidemiology, and Global Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Asim Ijaz Khwaja, co-chair
Sumitomo-FASID Professor of International Finance and Development at Harvard Kennedy School
Danielle Allen
James Bryant Conant University Professor
Jana Amin
Student at Harvard College
Hakeem Belo-Osague
Senior Lecturer of Business Administration at Harvard Business School
Melani Cammett
Clarence Dillon Professor of International Affairs in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Diana L. Eck
Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies at Harvard Divinity School, and Fredric Wertham Professor of Law and Psychiatry in Society in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Fawwaz Habbal
Senior Lecturer on Applied Physics at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Alta Mauro
Associate Dean for Inclusion and Belonging at Harvard College
Nader Uthman
Senior Preceptor in Arabic in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Additional student members to be determined
Khalil Abdur-Rashid, advisor
Muslim Chaplain at Harvard University, and Lecturer on Muslim Studies at Harvard Divinity School
Nadir Ahmed, advisor
University Attorney
Sherri Charleston, advisor
Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer
Robin Glover, advisor
Associate Provost for Student Affairs