Latest news with #HarvardStudentsForFreedom
Forbes
11 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Raising Capital, Raising Defenses: Turning Endowments Into Legal Lifelines
TOPSHOT - People hold up signs during the Harvard Students for Freedom rally in support of ... More international students at the Harvard University campus in Boston, Massachusetts, on May 27, 2025. Harvard students protested Tuesday after the US government said it intends to cancel all remaining financial contracts with the university, President Donald Trump's latest attempt to force the prestigious institution to submit to unprecedented oversight. (Photo by Rick Friedman / AFP) (Photo by RICK FRIEDMAN/AFP via Getty Images) Capital campaigns have long been used by universities to fund new buildings, research centers and endowed faculty positions. But as campuses become frequent targets of political and legal challenges, institutions may need to expand the purpose of these campaigns. Increasingly, capital campaigns are being used not only to build infrastructure, but also to defend it in court. Universities are navigating policy battles that stretch from federal funding threats to litigation over diversity programs, student protest rights and academic freedom. As legal costs grow and federal support becomes less predictable, capital campaigns offer an alternative stream of funding for long-term legal resilience. Capital Campaigns Are Evolving The traditional capital campaign is a multi-year fundraising effort aimed at major institutional investments. Notable examples include the University of Chicago, which raised $5.43 billion during its 'Inquiry and Impact' campaign, and Harvard University, whose record-setting campaign brought in $9.6 billion, The Harvard Crimson reported. While most campaigns historically focused on physical infrastructure, many now include less visible priorities: legal clinics, policy centers, and public interest litigation units. At the University of Virginia School of Law, a recent capital campaign met its $400 million goal early, highlighting growing donor support for initiatives that blend legal education with public impact work. Similarly, Villanova University's $1.25 billion campaign supports not only new facilities but also mission-driven academic programming. Legal Landscape Legal challenges faced by universities have threatened protections for undocumented students and investigated race-conscious admissions, including a high-profile case involving Harvard College's admissions policies, Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. (SFFA) v. President & Fellows of Harvard College (Harvard) and SFFA v. University of North Carolina (UNC), Nos. 20-1199 & 21-707. The U.S. Supreme Court held that Harvard and UNC's admissions programs, which account for race at various stages in the process, violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, striking down affirmative action in higher education. In another legal battle, a coalition of universities challenged efforts to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. That case, Dep't of Homeland Sec. v. Regents of the Univ. of Cal., 591 U.S. ___ (2020),which reached the Supreme Court in 2020, resulted in a ruling that preserved the program for hundreds of thousands of lawsuits may represent a broader pattern of legal exposure for universities on issues ranging from state restrictions on curricula to challenges against student protest rights. Building internal capacity to respond to these challenges may further emerge as a core strategic priority. Funding Litigation Through Philanthropy Legal advocacy is expensive. A single federal lawsuit can require years of staff time, expert witnesses, and appellate litigation. When public funding is reduced or tied to ideological compliance, private fundraising becomes essential. Donors already support legal centers focused on civil rights, government accountability and higher education access. At the University of Chicago, a $100 million anonymous donation in 2024 funded the Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression to protect open discourse on campus. Northwestern University's Community Justice and Civil Rights Clinic supports students working on over-policing and mass incarceration cases. Morgan State University received a $3 million gift from Kirkland & Ellis for its Robert M. Bell Center to fund racial justice fellowships and civil rights education. Universities may be further compelled to frame legal capacity-building as part of their capital campaign messaging, reflecting a broader concern for institutional autonomy. Foundations and individuals that once focused solely on infrastructure or scholarship are now looking to sustain the principles that make education possible: academic freedom, equal access, and legal independence. Looking Ahead Legal pressure on higher education institutions continues to escalate under the Trump administration's aggressive posture. Harvard University, in particular, has become a national focal point. The Department of Homeland Security recently revoked Harvard's certification to enroll international students, citing the school's refusal to turn over protest-related records. That move affects approximately 7,000 students. The university has filed suit, and a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order allowing continued enrollment during litigation, Reuters reported. In parallel, the Trump administration has reportedly frozen more than $2 billion in research grants to elite universities, including Harvard, citing alleged violations of federal directives related to antisemitism and national security, NPR reported. The federal government is also testing new visa protocols. Under a pilot program, the State Department is now reviewing the social media history of student visa applicants affiliated with certain universities to assess for 'antisemitic or extremist content,' the Associated Press reported. This evolving climate presents operational, reputational, and financial risks for higher education. In response, some universities are starting to build legal infrastructure into their capital campaigns, not just to fund scholarships and faculty chairs, but to support general counsel offices, legal centers, and rapid-response litigation teams that can defend academic freedom and student rights. These legal investments may prove just as essential as endowment growth in this era of political volatility. Universities that build legal infrastructure into capital campaigns can ensure they have both the resources and the strategic clarity to defend their operations, values, and students. As litigation becomes a persistent cost of operating in politically divided environments, legal capacity must be part of the fundraising conversation. Universities that succeed in the coming years will be those that recognize a building is only as secure as the law that protects it—and that constitutional integrity is a capital asset worth funding.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
British Harvard student, 20, 'who Donald Trump targeted in speech' opens up about fears for his future after US President cut off visas
A British Harvard student who believes Donald Trump targeted him in his explosive speech has opened up about fears over his future. Alfred Williamson, 20, has been studying for a double major in physics and government but his stint at the prestigious US university has come under threat after the President cut off visas for international students. The Welsh-born student currently lives in Copenhagen and despite a Boston judge's decision to temporarily block Trump's ban, he does not rate his chances of making a swift return to the Ivy League campus. Williamson also reckons that the President singled him out while announcing his 'dehumanising' immigration measures. 'They're taking people from areas of the world that are very radicalised and we don't want them making trouble in our country,' Trump said earlier this week while pledging to slash Harvard's overseas student intake from 31 per cent to 'around 15 per cent'. 'I saw yesterday that in the middle of the UK, there was a nice young man who wants to go back to school at Harvard and he looked good to me but I want to check.' Williamson told The Times: 'He likely was referring to me, since most students from the UK haven't been as vocal because they're scared of being targeted. But it's impossible to know.' The student has positioned himself in sharp contrast with some of his quieter colleagues, taking part in protests on campus with the Harvard Students for Freedom group. He said he would be particularly quick to speak out against the moves if they ended up blocking his Palestininian and Pakistani friends from coming to the US. Williamson has thought about returning to the UK to study at Oxford or Cambridge but explained that he is determined to remain at Harvard. He added that Trump's policies had actually served to unite typically disagreeing political camps within the university, in opposition to the measures. Many students have said they are worried about complaining, for fear of being targeted by the U.S. authorities, and while Williamson said he shared those fears, he felt he had an obligation to speak out. 'When people start to self-silence, we are no longer living in a democracy,' he told Reuters in Copenhagen on Wednesday. 'For me, it's absolutely critical that I voice my opinion so that we preserve these values that America was founded on. In fact, the ideals of freedom and rights.' Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has repeatedly attacked Ivy League schools, accusing Harvard of fostering violence, antisemitism and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party, without providing evidence. Last week, his administration revoked Harvard's ability to enrol international students and said it would force current foreign students to transfer to other schools or they would lose their legal status, in a dramatic escalation of the dispute. 'When the news hit, I was in complete and utter shock,' said Williamson, an undergraduate who is working towards a double major in physics and government and who described his first year as the best year of his life. 'I didn't know how to respond; I didn't know what to feel; I didn't know what to think; I didn't know if I'd be an illegal immigrant suddenly, or as they describe people like us, aliens. It was very devastating news.' Harvard, where international students make up more than a quarter of enrolment, filed a lawsuit last week challenging the order. A federal judge has issued a temporary two-week injunction, but the uncertainty persists. Williamson said he hadn't heard anything about his visa, but knew that some classmates had struggled to get renewals. He said he appreciated Harvard's response, and the support it had shown to international students at the university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which has emerged as one of Trump's most prominent institutional targets. 'That's the only way you can deal with someone like Trump,' he said. 'He will make demand after demand. One demand will turn into three, and three will turn into five.' But he said the current situation is deeply uncomfortable: 'We're being used like pawns in the game that we have no control of, and we're being caught in this crossfire between the White House and Harvard, and it feels incredibly dehumanising.'
