Professors Applaud Harvard’s Refusal To Comply With Trump

Some of Harvard’s most prominent faculty applauded University President Alan M. Garber ’76 for his refusal on Monday to comply with the Trump administration’s demands to keep its federal funding.

“A powerful and entirely justified statement by @Harvard president Alan Garber in response to massive overreach by the federal government,” former Harvard Medical School dean Jeffrey S. Flier wrote in a post to X on Monday afternoon.

“I read President Garber’s email with a great sense of encouragement,” University Professor Danielle S. Allen — who has been a key force in the push to expand faculty governance at Harvard — wrote in a statement to The Crimson. “This is the right framework for a forward path. I’m grateful for the courage of our university leadership.”

University Professor Laurence H. Tribe also praised Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76’s announcement in a post on X, encouraging donors to up their givings in anticipation of the more than $8 billion in federal funding that the White House said Harvard would lose if it rejected the government’s demands.

“I’m proud of Harvard and its leaders,” wrote Tribe, a prominent constitutional law scholar. “This is the moment to max out in giving to Harvard — to fill the gap Trump will create.”

Former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers, who recently penned an op-ed in the New York Times calling for Harvard to lead other universities in resisting President Donald Trump’s attacks, also took to X to laud the University’s decision. He wrote in his post that he hoped other universities would join Harvard in standing up against Trump’s actions.

“Very glad to see President Garber leading Harvard and I hope all universities in resisting extralegal and unreasonable demands from the federal government,” he wrote.

Over the past three weeks, more than 800 Harvard faculty have signed a letter addressed to the University’s governing boards demanding Harvard take a more public stance against attacks on higher education and resist orders that limit its independence.

—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.