Upholding Our Values, Defending Our University

Read the latest statement from President Garber

“No government—regardless of which party is in power—should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”

Harvard President Alan Garber

What’s at risk

Harvard is home to the world’s most cutting-edge medical, scientific, and technological research. For decades, that research has been supported by the federal government, among many other sponsors. That support is essential for the continuation of groundbreaking innovations that impact countless human lives.

Without federal funding, this work will come to a halt midstream, and researchers will lack necessary resources to finish ongoing projects or to finance new ones in the numerous fields Harvard supports, including:

Scores of Researchers Receive Termination Notices After Federal Government Cuts Most Grants to Harvard

More than 100 Harvard researchers, including HMS Prof. David A. Sinclair, received termination notices for federally funded research projects after the Trump administration cut the majority of federal grants to Harvard.

He got the stop-work order. Then the scrambling began.

Wyss’ Don Ingber details rush to hold onto consequential projects, talented researchers — and system that has driven American innovation.

Leading Harvard scientist ordered to halt research in funding freeze

Read the Boston Globe article

A professor at Harvard was studying ALS. He lost his funding after the federal freeze

The history of federal funding and the real-world price if it’s halted

For 75 years, the federal government has partnered with academic institutions, fueling discoveries that have transformed medicine, saved lives, and positioned the United States as a global science leader. If this funding is halted it interrupts work on tuberculosis, chemotherapy, pandemic preparedness, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Antisemitism and Research Funding

The government claims to have taken this action because it says the University has not fulfilled its obligations to curb and combat antisemitic harassment.

Harvard continues to devote considerable effort to addressing antisemitism. We have strengthened our rules and our approach to disciplining those who violate them. We have enhanced training and education on antisemitism across our campus and introduced measures to support our Jewish community and ensure student safety and security. We have launched programs to promote civil dialogue and respectful disagreement inside and outside the classroom. We have adopted many other reforms, and we will continue to combat antisemitism and to foster a campus culture that includes and supports every member of our community. Curtailing research funding, however, will not help with this important work. What it will do is jeopardize lifesaving cures as well as work that ensures our nation’s economic and defense security.

Learn about our implementation efforts