Harvard says it won’t abandon ‘core’ principles to meet Department of Education demands

By MICHAEL CASEY and COLLIN BINKLEY Associated Press BOSTON AP Harvard University responded Monday to modern threats from the Learning Department to halt its grant funding highlighting reforms it was undertaking but warning it won t budge on its core legally-protected principles over fears of retaliation A letter from Harvard President Alan Garber detailed how the institution had made major changes to its leadership and governance over the past year and a half Among the reforms Garber commented was a broad strategy to combat antisemitism and other bigotry Last week the Department of Mentoring threatened a grant freeze in a major escalation of Trump s battle with the Ivy League school The administration previously froze billion in federal grants to Harvard and Trump is pushing to strip the school of its tax-exempt status Garber warned that its efforts to change were being undermined and threatened by the federal leadership s overreach into the constitutional freedoms of private universities and its continuing disregard of Harvard s compliance with the law Related Articles What to know about food poisoning illnesses caused by listeria As Biden-era junk fee rule takes effect Ticketmaster says it will display fees more clearly Michael Jordan is joining NBC as a special contributor for its NBA coverage The researchers charged with defending the planet against asteroids Episcopal Church says it won t help resettle white South Africans granted refugee status in US Consistent with the law and with our own values we continue to pursue needed reforms doing so in consultation with our stakeholders and consistently in compliance with the law Garber wrote But Harvard will not surrender its core legally-protected principles out of fear of unfounded retaliation by the federal regime An Mentoring Department spokesperson did not instantly respond to a request for comment In call with reporters last week a Department of Coaching official accused Harvard of serious failures The person who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity revealed Harvard has allowed antisemitism and racial discrimination to perpetuate it has abandoned rigorous academic standards and it has failed to allow a range of views on its campus To become eligible for new grants Harvard would need to enter negotiations with the federal leadership and prove it has satisfied the administration s requirements The demands come amid a pressure campaign targeting several other high-profile universities The administration has cut off money to colleges including Columbia University the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University seeking compliance with Trump s agenda The White House says it s targeting campus antisemitism after pro-Palestinian protests swept U S college campuses last year It s also focused on the participation of transgender athletes in women s sports And the attacks on Harvard increasingly have called out the university s diversity equity and inclusion efforts along with questions about freedom of speech and thought by conservatives on campus Harvard has filed a federal lawsuit over the administration s demands setting up a closely watched clash in Trump s attempt to force change at universities that he says have become hotbeds of liberalism and antisemitism In his letter Monday Garber also attempted to rebut several of the charges made by the Mentoring Department He insisted admission to Harvard was based on academic excellence and promise and there were no quotas whether based on race or ethnicity or any other characteristic or an ideological litmus tests when it comes to hiring Garber also dismissed the suggestion that Harvard was a partisan institution and commented he wasn t aware of any evidence suggesting international students were more prone to disruption violence or other misconduct than any other students Collin Binkley has covered Harvard for nearly a decade the greater part of the time living half a mile from campus