Diversity
Deming Puts Positive Spin on Harvard College Diversity Office Closures, but Acknowledges Outside Pressure
Harvard College Dean David J. Deming told students that the College can no longer host programming targeted at specific races or identity groups during a presentation to Peer Advising Fellows last week — telling attendees he assumed they already understood why the change was necessary.
Harvard College To Remove Designated Spaces for Women’s Center, Office for BGLTQ Student Life
Harvard College will close the designated spaces that previously housed the Women’s Center and the Office for BGLTQ Student Life, following a July decision to shutter those offices — along with one for minority students — and fold their staff into a new center within the Office of Culture and Community.
Harvard Welcomes Class of 2029 to a Campus Reshaped by Trump’s Second Presidency
From the start, Harvard’s Class of 2029 witnessed how the College is refashioning itself for a new political era, embracing calls to address antisemitism while backing away from diversity programs disfavored by the White House.
Harvard To Remove Black Lives Matter Message From Biology Professors’ Office Windows
A Harvard administrator told two professors on Tuesday that a Black Lives Matter sign displayed in their office windows would be taken down by this Saturday, describing it as a violation of the University’s campus use rules.
Early Data Shows 85% of Admits Plan to Join Harvard’s Class of 2029, Despite Federal Attacks and Funding Cuts
Roughly 85 percent of admits accepted their offers to enroll in Harvard College’s Class of 2029, the admissions office revealed in a Saturday meeting with students that included a presentation of preliminary statistics on Harvard’s incoming class.
How Grievances at the Harvard Law Review Became Ammunition for the White House
A string of leaks this spring made the Law Review a target for the Trump administration. But the same fights — over the Israel-Palestine conflict, race, and meritocracy — have a longer history inside its own walls.
Harvard Will Open New Muslim, Hindu Prayer Spaces After Years of Uneven Access
For years, Harvard’s only dedicated spaces for Muslim and Hindu worship were in a dormitory basement. This fall, the University will open two new prayer spaces following April recommendations from two internal task forces to overhaul its approach to religious life on campus.
Trump Expands Race Data Disclosure Requirements, Putting Harvard Admissions Under Scrutiny Again
Harvard and all other American universities will now be required to submit data proving that they do not consider race in admissions, following a Thursday memorandum from President Donald Trump.
Conservative Legal Group Backs Justice Dept. Investigation Into Harvard’s Admissions Policies
America First Legal Foundation, a conservative legal group founded by senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller, published a letter Wednesday backing a federal investigation into whether Harvard has failed to comply with a Supreme Court ruling that ended affirmative action.
Harvard’s Accrediting Agency Proposes Removing DEI Standards, in Line With Trump Order
The nonprofit commission that determines whether Harvard receives accreditation proposed new standards earlier this month that removed references to diversity, equity, and inclusion — the latest shift away from DEI in higher education as the Trump administration pushes for its elimination.
Harvard Merges Gender Equity and Community Conduct Offices
Harvard announced Monday that it will combine its gender equity and nondiscrimination efforts under a new Office for Community Support, Non-Discrimination, Rights, and Responsibilities in order to unify the University’s Title IX and Title VI compliance efforts.
Harvard College Closes Diversity Offices, Reassigns Staff to New ‘Harvard Foundation’
Harvard College will close its offices for minority students, LGBTQ students, and women and fold their staff under a new Office of Culture and Community, according to a Wednesday message from College Dean David J. Deming.
Harvard Grad Schools Rebrand Diversity Offices as University Wipes DEI Messaging
Several Harvard graduate schools began shuttering their diversity, equity, and inclusion offices over the past two weeks, continuing the University’s effort to replace DEI programs that the Trump administration has broadly painted as illegal.
Harvard College, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Replace Diversity Offices Amid DEI Purge
The dismantling of Harvard’s diversity offices arrived at Harvard College on Wednesday as websites for centers serving minority students, LGBTQ students, and women disappeared suddenly and without fanfare.
Faculty of Arts and Sciences Overwhelmingly Backs Harvard’s Fight Against Trump, Survey Shows
A decisive majority of faculty who responded to The Crimson’s annual survey of Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences support the University’s lawsuit against the Trump administration’s federal funding freeze — and believe Harvard shouldn’t cut a deal with the White House.
A Mass Leak Showed the Harvard Law Review Assessed Articles for DEI Values. Some Authors Say That’s Not a Problem.
After a massive leak, the Harvard Law Review was accused of using a racially conscious and ideologically discriminatory rubric to evaluate article submissions. But many of the authors whose works were evaluated in the leaked documents didn’t see it that way.
Rejecting Grad Union’s Title IX Request, Harvard Asks To Ban External Arbitration in All Discrimination Cases
As it negotiates with its graduate student union, Harvard is looking to excise contract language that lays out antidiscrimination protections and instead shift authority over complaints to policies and procedures maintained by the University.
House Committee To Investigate Harvard’s Hiring Practices for Racial Discrimination
Nine Republican lawmakers on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce opened an investigation into Harvard’s faculty hiring practices on Tuesday, claiming Harvard may have violated federal employment discrimination law by considering race and gender.
Nonprofit CEO John Rice Defends Diversity Efforts in HBS Class Day Speech
In a Harvard Business School Class Day address last week, John Rice, the founder and CEO of Management Leadership for Tomorrow, contended that diversity and inclusion remained important to leveling the playing field in business — and that the term had been unjustly stigmatized.
HMS Restructures and Renames Diversity Office, Removes Pledge To Fight Inequities
The Harvard Medical School renamed its diversity office and announced changes to several major DEI programs on Wednesday in the latest rollback of diversity infrastructure at Harvard.
Students Hold Unofficial Affinity Celebrations, Marked by Anger at University Decision to Withdraw Support
Eight affinity groups held celebrations for Commencement this week, despite having been denied funding and access to campus venues by Harvard officials.
Weeks After Cutting Off Support for Affinity Grad Events, Harvard Funds ASL Interpreter for Disability Celebration
After the University announced it would no longer host or fund affinity group celebrations for Commencement, Harvard funded an interpreter for a Tuesday disability affinity ceremony but told organizers to distance the event from traditional affinity celebrations held in previous years.
The Rise and Fall of DEI at Harvard
Over the past three years, Harvard has shifted its approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion programs — moving from a full-throated support to abandoning the language of DEI amid threats from a hostile White House.
6 New Members Elected to Harvard Board of Overseers
The newly-elected Overseers include Mark A. Edwards ’82, Nathaniel O. Keohane, Michael Rosenblatt, Anjali Sud, Courtney B. Vance ’82, and Mary Louise Kelly ’93.
Garber Defends Leadership Changes and DEI Office Renaming, Denies Political Pressure
Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 acknowledged concerns that the dismissal of two faculty directors at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies in March and the renaming of the University’s diversity office appeared to some as concessions to the Trump administration, but declined to explain either decision.