FAS Dean Asks Center Directors To Show Compliance With Viewpoint Diversity Guidance

Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Hopi E. Hoekstra told directors of FAS centers they would be required to meet with their divisional deans to explain how their programs are complying with recent guidance on intellectual diversity in a Tuesday email.

In her email, Hoekstra informed center directors that they would be required to discuss their slate of programming and seminars, as well as the degree to which these activities meet the FAS’ standards for “exposure to different ideas, perspectives, and topics.”

She added that the directors would be asked to explain how they were promoting “respectful dialogue across controversial topics” and what changes, if any, their programs were implementing to follow recent FAS and University guidance on intellectual diversity and open dialogue.

“I write to seek more detail about how the principles articulated in these reports are being implemented in the FAS’s centers and institutes,” Hoekstra wrote.

Hoekstra’s Tuesday email was sent just one day before the director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, professor of Turkish Studies Cemal Kafadar, and the center’s associate director, History professor Rosie Bsheer, were forced to leave their posts.

The center had previously drawn backlash for some of its programming, which critics — including Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers — argued was antisemitic, focused excessively on the Israel-Palestine conflict, and did not properly represent Israeli perspectives.

At other schools — including Columbia University, which recently caved to demands from the Trump administration to put its Middle Eastern, African, and South Asian studies programs under administrative supervision — units that have drawn political ire have been restructured or faced cuts.

In her email, Hoekstra wrote that the meetings with center directors were a path to implementing recommendations from a recent FAS committee report and the University-wide Open Inquiry and Constructive Dialogue working group, both of which urged Harvard to foster a range of perspectives in classrooms and programs across the University.

“We are advancing these commitments not only in our classrooms, but in all parts of the FAS,” Hoekstra wrote. “This includes programs, seminars, and activities, mounted by our departments, as well as our centers and institutes, which serve a strong pedagogical purpose.”

The FAS report found that many students frequently self-censor during conversations about controversial topics in class, and some have tailored assignments to align with the perceived ideology of their instructors. The committee recommended that students be exposed to “diverse viewpoints” and that faculty “acknowledge the range of perspectives” in their fields.

Hoekstra wrote in her email Tuesday that she would regularly discuss the centers’ progress with divisional deans and would work to provide directors with the necessary feedback and tools “to meet the expectation of advancing an open and constructive learning environment.”

Several center directors contacted by The Crimson Friday afternoon and evening said it was too early to comment on the implications of Hoekstra’s announcement.

—Staff writer William C. Mao can be reached at william.mao@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @williamcmao.

—Staff writer Veronica H. Paulus can be reached at veronica.paulus@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @VeronicaHPaulus.