They say the first step in addiction recovery is admitting a problem—but typically only after the patient reaches rock bottom.?Relations between Harvard and the Trump administration have hit rock bottom over Harvard’s addictions to the liberal bubble of woke ideology, to marginalizing conservative students, speakers and professors, and to their appeasement of antisemitism.?
Harvard President Alan Garber finally admits that lack of conservative views on campus is a “problem.” As a Harvard grad, I hope this delayed but true acknowledgment isn’t too little too late. Harvard’s reformation process so far is mixed.
On the negative side of Harvard’s ledger, one need look only so far as last month’s 374th commencement, as reported by the 1636 Forum newsletter. (Harvard was founded in 1636 to train clergy in effective spiritual shepherding—how far it strayed!)
This newsletter for Harvard alumni was founded by Sam Lessin, a tech executive and Harvard grad who is Jewish and deeply concerned about antisemitism at Harvard. Lessin unsuccessfully ran for Harvard Board of Overseers in December of 2023, but I gladly voted for him.
1636 Forum reported how at the commencement, Harvard awarded an honorary degree to U.C. Berkeley professor emeritus Elaine Kim.
“This decision by Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers reveals either troubling oversight or conflicted values—both problematic for an institution navigating such a delicate moment,” 1636 Forum said. “Kim prominently endorses academic and cultural boycotts of Israel, including as recently as this year. These boycotts exclude scholars solely based on nationality—the antithesis of the academic freedom and international inclusion that Harvard champions in federal lawsuits and public statements.”
Last month, the Trump administration directed federal agencies to cancel remaining contracts with Harvard by June 6—around $100 million. A letter from the General Services Administration said the decision stemmed over concerns with Harvard’s reported racial discrimination in admissions and hiring, alleged discriminatory practices at Harvard Law Review and failure to discipline Harvard Law and Harvard Divinity School students charged with assaulting an Israeli Harvard Business School student during an October 2023 protest.
Trump’s Department of Homeland Security also notified Harvard it would revoke visas for Chinese students over national security concerns from reported ties to the Chinese Communist Party. This would include Harvard’s 2025 commencement speaker, “Luanna” Yurong Jiang, who the Daily Caller News Foundation reported worked for a CCP entity with extensive ties to Beijing’s military and intelligence networks.
Damningly, the Wall Street Journal published an article titled “Harvard Has Trained So Many Chinese Communist Officials, They Call It Their ‘Party School.’”
In another disappointing turn of events, Harvard alumni rejected their chance to embrace viewpoint diversity during elections for the board of overseers and the alumni association. A group of woke Harvard and Radcliffe alumni, students, staff and faculty calling itself “The Coalition for a Diverse Harvard” torpedoed the campaigns of conservative Asian American alumni Lanhee Chen and Allison Pillinger Choi.?
Chen and Pillinger Choi both lost, singled out by the leftist group for their purportedly “concerning statements” about diversity. Translation: The Coalition for a Diverse Harvard wants Harvard to continue discriminating against Asian students in admissions and icing out conservative viewpoints.
“These results reconfirm that thinkers like us aren’t fully welcomed,” Pillinger Choi said in an email to her supporters, including me. “Even though we’re the minority voice, including that voice in the conversation shines light on the blind spots in an echo chamber.”
To assuage Trump’s concerns, Harvard just named to its board Kannon Shanmugam, a GOP donor and former clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia. In an email to Harvard alumni announcing the appointment, Garber and Penny Pritzker, another Harvard board member (and commerce secretary under former President Barack Obama), said Shanmugam would be “bringing fresh perspectives and valuable insights to the hard and important work ahead.”
Harvard also in April reportedly hired DLA Piper, a Republican-connected lobbying firm. But Washington lobbyists can’t fix what’s broken in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
I saw this firsthand while earning my master’s degree in public policy at Harvard Kennedy School of Government. While I treasure many Harvard experiences, I also sometimes felt stifled, afraid of retaliation in classes led by a panoply of former Democrat appointees. In one course, a former Obama organizer professor sought to force all students to attend an anti-conservative immigration rally. Conservative economic policies were routinely degraded in my class under another professor, a former Sen. Ted Kennedy adviser.
The Trump administration wants universities like Harvard to follow laws governing discrimination and fair treatment of all students, including Jews and conservatives. This shouldn’t be controversial. Critical thinking on campuses is vital—including open debate, intellectual integrity, robust dialogue—instead of shutting people out. The Trump administration’s actions aren’t meant simply to punish Harvard; rather they seek its reform.
I’m hopeful Harvard can make its needed changes. If Harvard wants to remove itself from federal mandates, it could stop accepting public taxpayer money. Some campuses, like Hillsdale College, take this approach, freeing them from government regulations conflicting with perceived educational missions.?
But until then, if Harvard wants public money, it must serve all the public’s interests—to truly represent We the People.
Carrie Sheffield is a senior policy analyst at Independent Women’s Voice and author of “Motorhome Prophecies: A Journey of Healing and Forgiveness.”