US President Donald Trump and Former US President Barack Obama
Obama reacts as Trump freezes $2.3b Harvard University funding
Former US President Barack Obama has voiced his support for Harvard University in its ongoing dispute with the Donald Trump administration.
Obama praised Harvard for rejecting the administration’s attempt to stifle academic freedom.
The former US President said: “Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions – rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. Let’s hope other institutions follow suit.”
This statement comes after the Trump administration froze $2.3 billion in federal funding for Harvard, citing alleged antisemitism on campus linked to pro-Palestinian protests.
The Trump administration’s demands include reducing the influence of faculty and staff deemed more committed to activism than scholarship and ensuring viewpoint diversity through external audits.
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Harvard President Alan Garber responded, saying the demands would allow the federal government to control the university, threatening its values as a private institution dedicated to knowledge pursuit.
Garber emphasized that no government should dictate what private universities can teach, admit, or hire.
The dispute highlights concerns about academic freedom and speech, with the Trump administration pressing universities to make policy changes.
Other universities, including Princeton, Cornell, Northwestern, Brown, and the University of Pennsylvania, have also faced funding freezes or reviews.
In response to the funding freeze, Harvard plans to issue $750 million in bonds, while Princeton aims to issue $320 million.
According to Charlie Eaton, an economic sociologist, leveraging bonds could be a viable strategy for wealthy institutions to ride out the crisis, provided the interest paid on bonds is lower than endowment investment returns.
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