Harvard University may create a conservative center for scholarship to promote “viewpoint diversity” as the Ivy League school grapples with Trump administration allegations of campus antisemitism and being too liberal, according to a report.
The idea of creating such a center, estimated to cost between $500 million and $1 billion, has been discussed for years but may be fast-tracked after anti-Israel protests erupted on campus in 2023, the Wall Street Journal reported.
A program currently being explored “will ensure exposure to the broadest ranges of perspectives on issues, and will not be partisan, but rather will model the use of evidence-based, rigorous logic and a willingness to engage with opposing views,” a university spokesperson told the paper.
Harvard has been accelerating its efforts to develop a plan, which would “promote and support viewpoint diversity,” the spokesperson added.
Harvard has been battling with the White House since President Trump began his second term earlier this year over accusations of rampant antisemitism on campus following anti-Israel demonstrations.
Jewish students have been spat on, harassed and left feeling “physically unsafe,” according to a shocking Department of Health and Human Services report released last month.
The administration has said Harvard was in violation of civil rights laws and threatened to strip the university of about $3.3 billion in federal funding if measures aren’t implemented to curb campus antisemitism.
“Failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal financial resources and continue to affect Harvard’s relationship with the federal government,” the Trump administration wrote in a June 30 letter to the school.
Last month, Trump banned international students from entering the US to study at Harvard for six months — but that effort was later temporarily blocked by a federal judge.
Harvard has sued the government over $2.2 billion in frozen grants and a hearing has been scheduled for August.
Harvard University President Alan Garber has admitted that a lack of conservative voices — and fear of voicing such “unpopular” opinions — on its campus are problems that need to be addressed.
But Harvard has been resistant to bow to Trump and surrender its autonomy over the students it admits, the faculty it hires and its curriculum, those familiar with the discussions told the Journal.
The Trump administration wouldn’t view Harvard establishing a new institute as a bargaining chip in their negotiations, sources familiar with the administration’s stance told the paper.
However, a deal could be imminent after an initial proposal from Harvard was quickly shot down by the administration, the Journal reported.
“We’re negotiating hard, I think we’re getting close to having it happen, it’s not wrapped up as fast as I wanted it to, but we’re getting there,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said at Tuesday’s cabinet meeting.