HKS Human Rights Hub Renamed Carr-Ryan Center After $10 Million Donation

The Harvard Kennedy School’s hub for human rights research was renamed the Carr-Ryan Center on Friday in recognition of a $10 million donation from venture capitalist Vincent Ryan.

The donation came just three days before the Trump administration froze more than $2 billion in federal funding to Harvard on Monday.

In a list of demands sent by the Trump administration on Friday, the White House cited the Carr Center as one of several Harvard programs, schools, and centers that allegedly “fuel antisemitic harassment or reflect ideological capture.”

But Carr Center director Matthias Risse has publicly headed off claims that the center is “hyperfixated” on Israel, writing in a recent letter to the editor that Gaza is one of the center’s many areas of attention and it aims to provide “balanced programming” on the conflict.

Risse said Ryan’s donation was a testament to the ongoing value of the Carr Center’s research.

“It’s an acknowledgement of the importance of human rights work at the Kennedy School at Harvard,” Risse said. “And it is also an acknowledgement that we here at the Center have done a good job pursuing this work, especially under these difficult circumstances.”

Ryan, the Harvard donor, struck a similar tone in a Monday interview with The Crimson, saying it was a uniquely important moment to support the Carr Center’s work.

“The timing couldn’t be better in the sense of what we’re dealing with, with the Trump administration,” Ryan said.

“The atmosphere at the Harvard Kennedy School for human rights is really good because you’ve got an outstanding dean and a great faculty,” he added.

HKS Dean Jeremy Weinstein also defended the center’s work in a Friday press release announcing the rededication.

“The promotion and protection of human rights could not be a more relevant and vital policy priority in both the United States and world today,” Weinstein said.

The $10 million donation, according to Risse, is not directed toward specific programming but will instead provide the “infrastructure funding” needed to keep the center running.

The Carr Center’s focus on global human rights means it has often been a flashpoint for political controversy.

The Carr Center has sponsored research and education at the intersection of human rights and technology, racial justice, and mass atrocity since 1999, when it was founded by former HKS dean Graham T. Allison ’62 and Greg Carr, who provided an initial endowment of $18 million.

Most recently, the center launched the Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights Program to research and develop policy solutions to LGBTQ+ issues around the world.

But Risse said the endowment “hasn’t been itself sufficient” to provide for the “basic functionality” of the center, which must fundraise independent of the University to support its initiatives.

With the help of Ryan’s donation, the center can now focus its energy on soliciting donations for specific programming without worrying about the viability of the center, Risse said.

“It’s easier for donors to see themselves in particular activities rather than in infrastructure,” Risse said. “So it just enables us to focus in better ways in our fundraising.”

Ryan, who is also the emeritus chair of the Carr Center’s Advisory Board, supports various human rights causes through grants from The Schooner Foundation, the philanthropy arm of his venture capital firm.

“Growth, growth, growth,” Ryan said when asked of his vision for the Carr-Ryan Center.

“It’s very hard to raise money for human rights. People just don’t think about it like they should,” he added. “And so if we can grow that would be fabulous.”

—Staff writer Elise A. Spenner can be reached at elise.spenner@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X at @EliseSpenner.

—Staff writer Tanya J. Vidhun can be reached at tanya.vidhun@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @tanyavidhun.