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Academic life 

Harvard and its Schools are dedicated to strengthening academic excellence through enhancing course offerings, upholding rigorous pedagogical standards, and implementing faculty development that support intellectual diversity and inclusive learning environments. Informed by the Task Force’s findings, Harvard and its Schools are further committed to increasing academic engagement with the study of antisemitism, Hebrew and Judaic studies, Israel, and related topics, as part of a broader commitment to scholarly inquiry across diverse fields and perspectives. Highlights include new course offerings, revised course evaluation forms, new trainings for faculty and staff, and new faculty positions to support the study of Jewish history and antisemitism.

Last updated December 2025

Faculty, staff, and course offerings

  • New course offerings in Faculty of Arts and Sciences. In fall 2025, FAS is offering the following new courses on Jewish and Israeli history and antisemitism: “Jews in the Modern Middle East and North Africa, 1800-present”; “Theories of Antisemitism”; “Jews in the Americas”; “Yiddish Literature and Culture in America”; and “What is Biblical Hebrew?” Additionally, in spring 2026, the History Department will offer a course on the Holocaust, and the Government Department will offer a course  on “The Politics of War and Peace in the Middle East”; and the Near Eastern Languages & Civilization Department will offer a course on “Social Archaeology of Iron Age Ancient Israel,” which was first offered in spring 2025.
  • New course and lecture offerings at Harvard Divinity School. In the 2025-26 Academic Year, Harvard Divinity School is offering courses on “American Jewish Polity,” “Prayer Book Hebrew,” “American Judaism,” “American Muslim Polity,” and “Islamic Chaplaincy and Ministry.” HDS also offered a lecture in October 2025 on “Who Made American Judaism? A History of Ordinary Leaders.” These courses are additions to the existing Jewish Studies and Islamic Studies courses.
  • First year seminars. The Office of Undergraduate Education at Harvard College continues to encourage additional course offerings pertaining to Jewish History and Culture. First-year seminars include “The Holocaust in History, Literature, and Film”; and “Medicine in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust.” In the 2025-26 Academic Year, “Antisemitism, Then and Now,” and “Jews in the Modern Middle East” were added as first-year seminars.
  • Course offerings at Harvard Law School: Each year, Harvard Law School invites a professor to visit as the Caroline Zelaznik Gruss and Joseph S. Gruss Visiting Professor in Talmudic Civil Law. In addition to existing course offerings on “Advanced Topics in Jewish Law,” “New Horizons in the Middle East,” and “The Nuremberg Trials,” in the 2025-26 Academic Year, HLS (in conjunction with FAS) will offer courses on “What We Owe Others: The Ethics Obligation in Jewish Law” and “Maimonides on Religion, Philosophy and Law.”
  • Expanding ladder faculty and research positions for Hebrew and Judaic Studies. Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences has dedicated additional resources for the study of Hebrew and Judaic studies, including the appointment of a College Fellow in Jewish Studies, authorization for a senior preceptorship in modern Hebrew, an offer out for a chair in Jewish history and culture, and authorized searches for two named chairs (professorships) in 2025-26. In addition, the University posted a position in October 2025 for a post-doctoral position to advance research on antisemitism.
  • Curriculum review. Deans will work with their faculty to strengthen existing academic review processes for courses and curricula, ensuring they uphold the highest standards of academic excellence and intellectual rigor while reflecting the shared teaching expectations described above. These review processes will respect disciplinary differences, faculty expertise, and academic freedom while fostering educational environments where all students can fully engage with course material.
  • Collaboration with Ben-Gurion University. In July 2025, Harvard announced a new collaboration with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) to offer study abroad opportunities for undergraduate students during the academic year and summer. This collaboration builds on similar study abroad and academic relationships Harvard has in place with other universities in Israel, including Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
  • Postgraduate research fellowship at Harvard Medical School. In July 2025, Harvard Medical School opened applications for the Blavatnik Fellowship in Life Sciences and the Dorot Fellowship, both of which are under the auspices of the Kalaniyot Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. This program will welcome scientists from Israel to conduct postdoctoral training in basic biomedical research at HMS.
  • Black and Jewish Leadership Initiative at Harvard Divinity School. In partnership with the Shalom Hartman Institute, Harvard Divinity School held the inaugural week-long session of the Black and Jewish Leadership Initiative (BJLI) in June of 2025. The BJLI is a new program designed for senior leaders of all backgrounds working in higher education, business, and the nonprofit sector to engage in leadership development centered on religious pluralism, civil discourse, and coalition-building. This program’s curriculum uses historical case studies of Black and Jewish alliances in American history, including the civil rights movement. HDS has recently announced that the second session of the initiative will convene in June of 2026.
  • Harvard Divinity School programming and initiatives: 

    • HDS has appointed new leadership for the Religion and Public Life (RPL) program effective July 1, 2025, with the Academic Dean serving as interim director to help with the transition. Additionally, the School appointed a committee of four distinguished scholars from outside Harvard to review the RPL program. The committee will provide an independent evaluation of the program, focusing on academic quality, effectiveness, and alignment with institutional goals.
    • HDS is taking steps towards the development of a Jewish Leadership Initiative, akin to the School’s longstanding Buddhist Ministry Initiative, to prepare students for service in their congregations, broader communities, and beyond.
    • In June 2025, HDS hired for the position of the Professor of Modern Jewish Studies in Residence.

Promoting civil discourse and viewpoint diversity in classrooms

  • Chatham House Rules. Many Schools across the University have adopted Chatham House Rules, which provide that information shared during class can be used outside the classroom, but cannot be affiliated or ascribed to any one person or organization.  The Rules seek to encourage constructive dialogue and the airing of diverse views in the classroom without pressure to conform to a particular stance.
  • Institutional Voice Principles. In May 2024, the University adopted its Institutional Voice Principles and will no longer “issue official statements about public matters that do not directly affect the university’s core function” as an academic institution. The University can and will continue to speak out on anything relevant to its core function, such as free and open inquiry, teaching, and research.
  • Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ adoption of the Classroom Social Compact.  Following the January 2025 recommendations from the FAS Classroom Social Compact Committee, faculty voted in March 2025 to adopt handbook language for students and instructors outlining expectations for classroom behavior to advance academic freedom, engagement of a range of viewpoints, and a vibrant learning environment. The expectations went into effect in the 2025-26 Academic Year. FAS added a training session to new faculty orientations in August 2025 on the new Social Classroom Compact, which included guidance on how faculty and students can contribute to a vibrant learning environment that promotes discovery, learning, and meaningful dialogue.
  • Faculty of Arts and Sciences Oversight Committee. Faculty of Arts and Sciences formed the Faculty Conduct Committee (FCC) to provide peer accountability for concerns related to the professional conduct of professors.
  • Course evaluations. Prior to the start of the fall 2025 term, Harvard College and many of Harvard’s graduate and professional schools updated their course evaluation processes to ensure evaluations appropriately elicit feedback from students as to an instructor’s ability to encourage competing viewpoints and create a classroom environment broadly conducive to learning.
  • Defining expectations for teaching excellence. Deans have been working with faculty to define shared expectations for teaching excellence that include: (1) maintaining appropriate focus on course subject matter; (2) ensuring students are treated fairly regardless of their identity or political/religious beliefs; (3) promoting intellectual openness and respectful dialogue among students; and (4) maintaining appropriate professional boundaries in instructional settings by refraining from endorsing or advocating political positions in a manner that may cause students to feel pressure to demonstrate allegiance.
  • Integrating teaching excellence into academic policies and practices. The shared expectations for teaching excellence will be clearly communicated to faculty and incorporated into policy documents such as instructor handbooks. These expectations will be reflected in established review and oversight processes, including course evaluations, faculty activity reporting, and compensation review, and in reviews regarding hiring, promotion, and renewal.
  • Best practices for classroom disruption. Faculty of Arts and Sciences provided faculty with training on responding to classroom disruptions in January 2024 and has shared key best practices on the FAS website.
  • Navigating classroom disruption at Harvard Graduate School of Education.   Harvard Graduate School of Education released updated protocols on navigating campus disruption to senior staff for sharing with their teams on September 2025. HGSE released similar messaging to faculty on navigating classroom disruptions on October 2025.
  • New Associate Director of Pedagogy for Civil Discourse.  In spring 2025, the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics (ELSCE) recruited and hired an Associate Director of Pedagogy for Civil Discourse. 
  • Harvard College teaching expectations. Each semester, Harvard College reminds the faculty responsible for a course of the expectations for instruction—including that a class should not be cancelled for political reasons—and that the faculty member is responsible for ensuring that teaching fellows are also abiding by these expectations.
  • Conflict resolution skills. Harvard Divinity School has recurrently co-offered a conflict resolution course with Harvard Law School, which will continue.
  • Negotiation training at Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences will sponsor a faculty expert from the Harvard Law School negotiation program to host multiple sessions for students on difficult conversations during the 2025–26 Academic Year.
  • Harvard Graduate School of Education Inclusive Teaching and Advising Steering Committee. In September 2025, Harvard Graduate School of Education launched an Inclusive Teaching and Advising Steering Committee charged in part with developing strategies to ensure that teaching and advising at HGSE is inclusive for all students regardless of their identity or beliefs. HGSE also formed the Dialogue Across Difference Steering Committee, which works to build capacity for constructive civil discourse, emphasizing the importance of engaging productively across differences in service of learning and collaboration.
  • Harvard Law School Instructional Review Working Group. As of fall 2025, Harvard Law School created an Instructional Review Working Group that will work in collaboration with the School’s Curriculum and Clinical Committees to help ensure that instructors create classroom environments that are conducive to learning.
  • Update to Harvard Medical School Faculty and Staff Handbook. The “Responsibilities of Teachers” section of the Harvard Medical School Master’s handbook was updated to reflect explicit expectations regarding facilitating discourse and implementing classroom confidentiality policies.
  • Harvard Law School best practices on classroom discussion. As a continuation of work over the last several years, Harvard Law School has developed and shared best practices for productive classroom discussion, built difficult conversation modules into first-year student orientation, piloted a negotiation requirement for graduation, and adopted rules that protect classroom discussion to ensure students can share views freely and openly.

Explore more actions and commitments

Return to Presidential Task Force on Combating Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias