Prominent Harvard Scholars Tell School President Not to Cave to Trump

A group of prominent faculty members at Harvard University on Thursday urged the school to stand firm against legal and financial pressures being brought by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration.

The New Republic's Greg Sargent posted a letter on Bluesky from the Harvard scholars addressed to Harvard President Alan Garber, in which they explain why striking a deal with Trump could be a major blow for both academic freedom and American democracy. The letter begins by decrying the administration's "assault on the vibrancy and inclusiveness of U.S. higher education" and then outlined values that they believe Harvard should not compromise during any negotiations with the government.

"The university must not directly or indirectly cede to governmental or other outside authorities the right to install or reject leading personnel—that is, to dictate who can be the officials who lead the university or its component schools, departments, and centers," they wrote.

The scholars also demanded that the university not allow the government to play a role in the hiring of faculty or the admission of students, and that the university keep the contents of courses in the hands of faculty members.

"Some of us believe that Harvard should not engage in any extraordinary 'negotiations' with an overstepping federal government; others believe that efforts to find a settlement are the right way forward," the scholars continued. "All of us have nevertheless agreed to sign this letter because we feel that public clarity is important about what cannot be compromised by Harvard, given its prominence in national and international academic affairs."

The letter's signatories were Harvard University political scientist Ryan Enos, Kennedy School of Government political scientist Archon Fung, Harvard University economist Oliver Hart, Harvard Business School economist Rebecca Henderson, Harvard University political scientist Steve Levitsky, Harvard University economist Eric Maskin, Kennedy School of Government economist Dani Rodrik, Harvard University sociologist Theda Skocpol, and Harvard University political scientist Stephen Walt.

In addition to those faculty members, Harvard Law School professor Rebecca Tushnet wrote her own letter to Garber in which she argued against any deal with the administration.

"Harvard has been a beacon for academic freedom, and that means that even if Harvard's administration believes that it is getting a 'good' deal, any 'deal' will be used to extort more concessions and destroy academic freedom elsewhere," she argued. "This is not how the leading U.S. university should behave."

After seeing the letter, some academics at other institutions chimed in to lend their support and appreciation to the Harvard scholars.

"When people in this group tell me about the long-term political implications of things, I listen," wrote Marquette University political scientist Julia Azari on Bluesky.

"These scholars are among the top thinkers about democracy and autocracy in the world," observed University of California, Los Angeles Law professor Rick Hasen.

Harvard has been locked in a lengthy legal battle with the Trump administration after the president cut off federal funding to the university and even threatened to revoke its accreditation status. Harvard has reportedly considered striking a deal with the administration along the lines of the one cut by Columbia University earlier this month, which may have been what prompted the university faculty members to write their letter.