US administration considers cutting billions of dollars in funding to Harvard University

On March 31, the administration of US President Donald Trump announced that it was conducting a “comprehensive review” of federal grants and contracts for Harvard University, amid allegations of tolerating anti-Semitic behavior on campus.

Specifically, three agencies including the Department of Education, the General Services Administration and the Department of Health & Human Services issued a press release stating that they will review more than $8.7 billion in multi-year federal funding for Harvard. At the same time, contracts worth $225 million that Harvard signed with the US government will also be reviewed.

Harvard University. Photo: Harvard

“Harvard has failed to protect students from anti-Semitic discrimination,” said US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “Instead of promoting academic freedom, it has promoted divisive ideology. This seriously threatens the reputation of the university.”

In response to the administration’s decision, Harvard President Alan Garber affirmed that he would cooperate with the government in its efforts to combat anti-Semitism. In an email to the Harvard community on March 31, he stated: “We will ensure that they have full information about the measures we have taken and will take to combat anti-Semitism.” At the same time, he expressed concern about the negative impacts of the government’s decision to cut federal funding.

The investigation into Harvard is the latest step by the Trump administration to pressure American universities to take aggressive action to control anti-war protests related to the Hamas-Israel conflict. The move comes after the US canceled $400 million in federal funding to Columbia University, which has been the focus of anti-Israel protests on college campuses following Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip.

To restore funding, Columbia accepted a series of conditions from the administration, including increased security on campus and tighter oversight of the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies.

In addition to Harvard and Columbia, several other universities have been targeted by the Trump administration. According to a list released by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights in February, about 60 schools are under investigation, including George Washington University, Johns Hopkins, New York University, Northwestern, UCLA, UC Berkeley, the University of Minnesota and the University of Southern California.

In addition to the anti-Semitism issue, the US has also suspended $175 million in funding to the University of Pennsylvania for allowing a transgender woman to compete on the women's swimming team in 2022. This review campaign is currently raising controversy over freedom of speech as well as the independence of American education from political pressure.

Tran Hien (according to Reuters, Al Jazeera, The New York Times)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/chinh-quyen-my-xem-xet-cat-giam-hang-ty-usd-tai-tro-cho-dai-hoc-harvard-post341067.html