Federal agencies, including HHS, are conducting a “comprehensive review” of nearly $9 billion in federal grants and contracts awarded to Cambridge, Mass.-based Harvard University.
Through the federal Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, officials with HHS and the Department of Education and General Services Administration will review more than $255.6 million in federal contracts with Harvard and its affiliates. The review also includes more than $8.7 billion in multi-year grant commitments, according to a March 31 statement.
The move is in response to what the Trump administration described as Harvard’s “failure to protect students on campus from anti-Semitic discrimination.”
“While Harvard’s recent actions to curb institutionalized anti-Semitism — though long overdue — are welcome, there is much more that the university must do to retain the privilege of receiving federal taxpayer’s hard earned dollars,” Josh Gruenbaum, a senior official at the General Services Administration, said in the statement. “This administration has proven that we will take swift action to hold institutions accountable if they allow anti-Semitism to fester. We will not hesitate to act if Harvard fails to do so.”
Harvard President Alan Garber, MD, PhD, underscored the university’s commitment to combat antisemitic harassment on campus in a message to students and staff March 31. Dr. Garber said the university has adopted a range of reforms over the past 15 months and plans to engage with the federal government.
“If this funding is stopped, it will halt life-saving research and imperil important scientific research and innovation,” Dr. Garber said in the statement. “Antisemitism is a critical problem that we must and will continue to address. As an institution and as a community, we acknowledge our shortcomings, pursue needed change, and build stronger bonds that enable all to thrive. Our commitment to these ends — and to the teaching and research at the heart of our University — will not waver.”
The development comes several weeks after the administration announced it was cutting $400 million in funding to Columbia University, following a similar review into the New York City-based institution’s handling of alleged anti-Semitic harassment and potential civil rights violations. More than half of the canceled funds to Columbia were tied to National Institutes of Health grants.
Columbia has since taken steps to restore federal funding and is currently in negotiations with the federal government. The White House has not shared a timeline for when funding may be restored.
Harvard Medical School is affiliated with 15 clinical and research institutes. Its major teaching hospitals include Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
