Latest news with #CommunityandCampusLife
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Harvard vows change amid release of internal reports on antisemitism, anti-Arab
Harvard has vowed to make changes after two internal reports regarding antisemitism and Islamophobia were released, causing the president of the school to apologize for the campus culture. 'The 2023-24 academic year was disappointing and painful. I am sorry for the moments when we failed to meet the high expectations we rightfully set for our community,' Harvard President Alan Garber said in a message to the community. In response to the reports, one of which focused on antisemitism and the other on students who experienced anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian or anti-Arab bias, Harvard will be reviewing its admission policies, appointments, curriculum and orientation and training programs. The school also wants to work on programs that foster dialogue among those with differences of opinion. 'In parallel, we are initiating further review of disciplinary policies and procedures to assess their effectiveness and efficiency, and are laying the groundwork to generate annual reports describing the University's response to complaints of discrimination or harassment,' Garber said. The announcement comes the same day Harvard said it was changing the name of its diversity, equity and inclusion office to Community and Campus Life. Both reports detail how Jewish, Israeli, Arab and Palestinian students felt unsafe on campus and not free to share their opinions openly. In the antisemitism report, it noted the issue long predates Hamas's attack on Israel in 2023 and goes back to the early 2010s. In the anti-Palestinian report, concerns about free speech on campus were top of mind. The announced changes come after Harvard sued the Trump administration for taking away $2 billion in funding. The federal government took away the funding because Harvard said it would not cave to demands such as eliminating DEI and changing its admission and hiring practices. 'May our successors, whether they are Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, or of any combination of backgrounds and perspectives, find Harvard to be a place where they can be themselves, express their views freely, and encounter sympathy and understanding—a place where all are cheered on as they pursue their dreams,' Garber concluded in his message. The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
29-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Harvard vows change amid release of internal reports on antisemitism, anti-Arab
Harvard has vowed to make changes after two internal reports regarding antisemitism and Islamophobia were released, causing the president of the school to apologize for the campus culture. 'The 2023-24 academic year was disappointing and painful. I am sorry for the moments when we failed to meet the high expectations we rightfully set for our community,' Harvard President Alan Garber said in a message to the community. In response to the reports, one of which focused on antisemitism and the other on students who experienced anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian or anti-Arab bias, Harvard will be reviewing its admission policies, appointments, curriculum and orientation and training programs. The school also wants to work on programs that foster dialogue among those with differences of opinion. 'In parallel, we are initiating further review of disciplinary policies and procedures to assess their effectiveness and efficiency, and are laying the groundwork to generate annual reports describing the University's response to complaints of discrimination or harassment,' Garber said. The announcement comes the same day Harvard said it was changing the name of its diversity, equity and inclusion office to Community and Campus Life. Both reports detail how Jewish, Israeli, Arab and Palestinian students felt unsafe on campus and not free to share their opinions openly. In the antisemitism report, it noted the issue long predates Hamas's attack on Israel in 2023 and goes back to the early 2010s. In the anti-Palestinian report, concerns about free speech on campus were top of mind. The announced changes come after Harvard sued the Trump administration for taking away $2 billion in funding. The federal government took away the funding because Harvard said it would not cave to demands such as eliminating DEI and changing its admission and hiring practices. 'May our successors, whether they are Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, or of any combination of backgrounds and perspectives, find Harvard to be a place where they can be themselves, express their views freely, and encounter sympathy and understanding—a place where all are cheered on as they pursue their dreams,' Garber concluded in his message.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Harvard revamps DEI office amid pressure from Trump administration
Harvard University is revamping its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) office amid its ongoing fight with the Trump administration, which it has sued for cutting its funding when it refused to make administration-demanded changes. Those changes included eliminating DEI, among other policy reforms. The office will now be called Community and Campus Life and will focus on how to build a culture of belonging at the school, work to have students engage across differences and support first-generation and low-income students, Harvard said. Sherri Ann Charleston, chief Community and Campus Life officer, said that in a recent campus survey, a smaller percentage of students created relationships with people that have differing opinions. 'Our challenge today is to help all within that community to realize the benefits of learning, working, and living alongside others who come from various backgrounds, have had different experiences, and hold diverse viewpoints,' Charleston said. Harvard sued the Trump administration after it took away more than $2 billion in federal funding over the Ivy League school not instituting its mandated changes. Harvard has bashed the federal government for trying to control higher education. 'There is so much at stake,' Harvard President Alan Garber said. 'People leave their jobs. We have patients whose treatment in clinical trials might be interrupted. Animals that are used in research sometimes cannot continue to be maintained when the funding stops.' 'We are defending what I believe is one of the most important lynchpins of the American economy and way of life: our universities,' he added. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Int'l Business Times
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Harvard Renames DEI Office to "Community and Campus Life" Amid Federal Pressure
People gather to take photos with the John Harvard Statue at Harvard University on April 17, 2025 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard University announced on April 28, 2025, that it will immediately rename its Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (OEDIB) to the Office of Community and Campus Life. The decision comes as the Trump administration escalates its efforts to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programming at universities, threatening billions in federal funding. The move has sparked debate about whether Harvard is conceding to political pressure or strategically adapting to a shifting landscape. The renaming was detailed in an email from Sherri A. Charleston, previously Harvard's chief diversity officer and now the chief Community and Campus Life officer. Charleston wrote, "In the weeks and months ahead, we will take steps to make this change concrete and to work with all of Harvard's schools and units to implement these vital objectives, including shared efforts to reexamine and reshape the missions and programs of offices across the university." The announcement followed two April letters from federal agencies demanding that Harvard dismantle its DEI initiatives or face a $2.2 billion federal funding freeze, which the university is now challenging through a lawsuit. The rebranded office will prioritize expanding cross-cultural engagement, supporting first-generation and low-income students, and fostering dialogue across ideological differences. Charleston cited a 2024 campus-wide Pulse Survey, noting that while many at Harvard feel a strong sense of belonging, fewer feel comfortable expressing divergent viewpoints. This, she argued, underscores the need to reimagine how Harvard builds community with a focus on free expression. The decision has drawn mixed reactions. Some see it as a pragmatic response to federal pressure, while others view it as a retreat from Harvard's commitment to DEI. Posts on X reflect this divide, with one user stating, "Harvard has renamed its Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging to 'Community and Campus Life'. The explanatory text is quite strong, and we will see what programmatic changes follow. Regardless of influence of federal pressure, seems like a positive development." Another user remarked sarcastically, "Wow they just be like 'whatever you say daddy' #DEI," highlighting skepticism about Harvard's motives. NEW: Harvard renamed its DEI office on Monday as it faces a surge of federal pressure. Effective immediately, Harvard's Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging will be renamed to "Community and Campus Life." More in @thecrimsonhttps:// — Dhruv Patel (@dhruvtkpatel) April 28, 2025 Harvard's legal battle against the Trump administration intensified this month, with the university suing over the $2.2 billion funding freeze, which it calls an "unconstitutional campaign" to punish its resistance to federal demands. The administration's push includes additional threats, such as a potential $1 billion cut in health research funding and investigations into Harvard's programs, like the Harvard Law Review, for alleged discrimination. The renaming also coincides with Harvard's decision to end funding and support for affinity group celebrations during commencement, a move attributed to federal warnings against race-based programming. Last year, Harvard hosted celebrations for groups including Black, Latinx, and first-generation graduates, but these events will no longer receive university resources, leaving student organizers uncertain about their future. Critics argue that the rebranding may dilute the focus on equity and inclusion, which Charleston herself emphasized in a 2021 interview with The Harvard Crimson. Reflecting on OEDIB's work, she said, "We saw in various spaces that there was a clarion call to make sure that we were not forgetting the equity component." That commitment now appears to be reframed under a broader mission, raising questions about how Harvard will balance its stated values with external pressures. As Harvard navigates this contentious period, the university's actions are being closely watched. Its lawsuit against the Trump administration and the rebranding of OEDIB signal a complex strategy: publicly resisting federal overreach while making concessions that could reshape its approach to diversity and inclusion. Whether the Office of Community and Campus Life will maintain the spirit of its predecessor remains to be seen, but for now, Harvard is charting a new course in a polarized climate. Originally published on University Herald
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Harvard University, under pressure from Trump administration, renames its DEI office
Harvard University is renaming its diversity, equity and inclusion office in a move that appears to bend to the Trump administration's demands to abolish DEI programs across the country and comes as the university faces off against the White House over political ideology in American higher education. The office has been renamed Community and Campus Life, an internal email to the Harvard community says. The email does not detail what further changes would be made as a result of the renaming but states the change 'requires us to find new ways to bring people of different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives together as one community, focusing on the unique experiences and contributions of the individual and not the broad demographic groups to which they belong.' Its release came the same day lawyers for Harvard and the Trump administration met for the first time in a lawsuit Harvard filed over the $2.2 billion freeze in its federal research funding. The Trump administration on Monday also announced it was launching investigations into the university and the Harvard Law Review, saying authorities have gotten complaints about race-based discrimination. Harvard sued after the Trump administration announced it was putting a hold on billions of dollars in grants and contracts following what the White House said was a breakdown in discussions over combating antisemitism on campus. The White House also has cited discrimination probes in slashing funding for other universities – including Cornell and Northwestern – and sent letters to 60 institutions of higher learning, warning them of potential punishment if they fail 'to protect Jewish students.' Monday's letter to the Harvard community was from Sherri Ann Charleston, who signed off as the Chief Community and Campus Life Officer; since 2020, she had served as the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. 'It seemed like the right time to adjust my title to better reflect what the offices under my direction do for our campus community,' Charleston wrote Monday in the message released with a internal survey conducted in 2019 and last fall that seeks to gauge the climate around inclusion and belonging of the campus community. Her letter also cited a reference, from Harvard's president's April 14 open letter, to the need to be in compliance with the Supreme Court's landmark 2023 decision ending affirmative action in American colleges. A case at the heart of that ruling involved Harvard. '(W)e must continue 'to work together to find ways, consistent with law, to foster and support a vibrant community that exemplifies, respects, and embraces difference' and, in doing so, 'also continue to comply with Students For Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which ruled that Title VI of the Civil Rights Act makes it unlawful for universities to make decisions 'on the basis of race,''' Charleston wrote. Harvard also announced Monday it would no longer host or fund affinity group celebrations during commencement, according to the school's student-led newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, citing an email sent to affinity groups Monday. The decision was made after the Department of Education threatened funding cuts if Harvard did not cancel graduation celebrations that could separate students based on race, it reported. Harvard's president this month said the school would not make key policy changes the White House demanded of colleges across the country, including eliminating its diversity, equity and inclusion program. 'The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights,' Harvard President Alan M. Garber wrote at the time. CNN has reached out to Harvard for comment. Harvard's decision to rebrand its DEI office follows similar reorganizations at government agencies, schools and companies across the country amid President Donald Trump's crackdown on such programs. The White House has decried DEI practices – designed to advance racial, gender, class and other representation in public spaces – as 'illegal and immoral discrimination.' In addition to freezing federal funding to Harvard, the White House has threatened to rescind Harvard's tax-exempt status and its eligibility to host foreign students. Harvard, one of the oldest and wealthiest universities in the country, argues in its lawsuit the funding freeze measure is not only the Trump administration's 'attempt to coerce and control Harvard' while disregarding 'fundamental First Amendment principles,' and also that Washington violated an arcane 1946 law governing administrative policies. In particular, the Administrative Procedure Act 'requires this Court to hold unlawful and set aside any final agency action that is 'arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law,'' the Harvard lawsuit says. Trump administration attorneys have not responded to the allegations in the lawsuit, but White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said April 22: 'The president has made it quite clear that it's Harvard who has put themselves in the position to lose their own funding by not obeying federal law, and we expect all colleges and universities who are receiving taxpayer funds to abide by federal law.'
