University News
Trump Takes Aim at Harvard’s Go-To Law Firm WilmerHale
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s Thursday order that sought to block WilmerHale — a firm that has represented Harvard in several high-profile lawsuits — from government business.
Harvard, Union Hash Out Immigration Policies Amid National ICE Raid Wave
Harvard agreed to provide non-tenure-track employees with paid leave during immigration proceedings, but declined to commit to sponsoring legal permanent residency applications in a contract counter proposal presented on Monday.
Title VI: An Old Law Is a New Tool in the War for Harvard
In the Trump administration’s campaign to punish colleges and universities for their response to pro-Palestine protests, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act has emerged as the clear legal weapon of choice.
Trump Cut Federal Funding to Penn for Transgender Athlete Policies. Could Harvard Be Next?
After the White House suspended $175 million of the University of Pennsylvania’s federal funding last week over the participation of a transgender athlete on the school’s swim team, the funding cut’s legal basis remains murky — and Harvard could be next on the list.
Harvard Suspends Research Partnership With Birzeit University in the West Bank
The Harvard School of Public Health suspended its research partnership with Birzeit University in the West Bank, bowing to longstanding calls to sever the collaboration.
Harvard Launches ‘Impact Labs’ To Fund Social Scientists Who Partner With Outside Organizations
Harvard will pilot a program — named Harvard Impact Labs — to fund collaboration between social scientists and leaders in the public and private sectors.
Harvard Requested Kestenbaum Delete X Post Denouncing DEI Officer
Harvard requested Harvard Divinity School graduate Alexander “Shabbos” Kestenbaum remove a critical social media post about Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Sherri A. Charleston.
Harvard Officials Met With Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, Used Info From Online Monitoring System
Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 said the University has benefited from Foundation To Combat Antisemitism’s tools to track antisemitism on social media at the annual Harvard Business School Shabbat Dinner with New England Patriots Owner Robert K. Kraft.
Harvard Freezes Hiring Amid Anxiety Over Trump
Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 announced a University-wide staff and faculty hiring freeze in a message to Harvard affiliates Monday morning, citing uncertainty under the Trump administration.
Months After Fall Deadline, Harvard Task Forces on Antisemitism, Islamophobia Have Yet To Issue Final Reports
More than one year after their founding, Harvard’s task forces on combating antisemitism and Islamophobia have yet to issue their final recommendations — missing their fall 2024 deadline by months.
Harvard, Graduate Student Union Clash Over Bargaining Observation
Negotiations for the Harvard graduate students union’s third contract got off to a rocky start last week, when University officials canceled the first bargaining session just hours before it was scheduled to begin over a dispute about meeting attendance.
Atul A. Gawande Named 2025 Harvard Alumni Day Speaker
Gawande, who graduated from HMS and the Harvard School of Public Health, has been a practicing surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital for more than twenty years. He previously served as an assistant administrator for global health in the U.S. Agency for International Development and a member of former President Biden’s Covid-19 Advisory Board.
Physician and Novelist Abraham Verghese Named 2025 Harvard Commencement Speaker
Stanford University biology professor, physician, and novelist Abraham Verghese will deliver the keynote address at Harvard’s 374th Commencement ceremony in late May, the University announced Thursday afternoon.
Amy Bernstein Named Harvard Business Review Editor in Chief
The Harvard Business Review named Amy S. Bernstein as its next editor in chief. She succeeds Adi Ignatius, who was the Editor in Chief for 16 years before Bernstein was appointed.
Janet Yellen Joins the Salata Institute’s Inaugural Advisory Board
Former Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen will join the Harvard Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability as a member of a newly formed external advisory board, the organization announced last week.
Harvard Dental School Abruptly Fired Its Head of DEI in December
Harvard School of Dental Medicine professor Fadie T. Coleman was forced out of her role as the assistant dean of the HSDM Office for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in December after the school’s dean said she did not meet work expectations.
On Lamont’s 75th Anniversary, Librarians Reflect on ‘Microcosm’ of Campus History
Situated in the southeast corner of Harvard Yard, Lamont — which celebrated its 75th anniversary last month — holds the Harvard Library’s main undergraduate collection for the humanities and social sciences. It was constructed in 1949, funded by a donation from 1892 alumnus Thomas W. Lamont.
Harvard Researchers Develop New Technology to Map Neural Connections
Harvard affiliates developed a silicon chip that successfully mapped more than 70,000 synaptic connections from 2,000 rat neurons — advancing a new recording technology to address existing limitations in the specificity and scope of neural imaging.
Longtime Nieman Foundation Curator Ann Marie Lipinski To Step Down at End of Academic Year
The Curator of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism, Ann Marie Lipinski, will step down from her role at the end of the academic year after 14 years leading Harvard’s center for journalism, the foundation announced Thursday.
HBS Professor Gino Makes Changes to Legal Counsel in Discrimination Suit
Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino has expanded her legal representation to include lawyers from employment firm Hartley Michon Robb Hannon LLP in an ongoing discrimination lawsuit filed against Harvard in 2023.
Former N.C. Governor Cooper To Join Harvard School of Public Health as Leadership Fellow
Beginning in late March, former North Carolina Governor Roy A. Cooper III will spend eight weeks as a Menschel Senior Leadership Fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Republicans Are Floating Plans To Raise the Endowment Tax. Here’s What You Need To Know.
Rep. Mike V. Lawler (R-N.Y.), an ally of President Donald Trump, became the latest Republican lawmaker to introduce an endowment tax on Friday, proposing an 8.6 percent tax hike for Harvard and other wealthy colleges and universities.
Garber Blasts Trump’s Limits on NIH Support for Indirect Costs
Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 slammed the Trump administration’s Friday decision to limit National Institutes of Health funding for overhead costs associated with research projects in a Sunday afternoon email.
Harvard Art Museums Receive Bequest of 64 Edvard Munch Artworks
The Harvard Art Museums received a bequest of 62 prints and two paintings by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch, an addition that makes the museum’s collection of Munch’s work one of the largest in the United States.