Latest news with #HopiHoekstra
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Harvard continues dismantling its DEI offices amid Trump attacks
Harvard University is continuing its months-long efforts to dismantle its offices focused on diversity, equity and inclusion at the same time as it continues fights in federal court with the Trump administration. The latest development came on Wednesday when Harvard College dismantled its diversity office to replace it with the new 'Office for Academic Culture and Community.' The university also removed its websites for the Women's Center, Office for BGLTQ Student Life and Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations and redirected them to a webpage for the new office. The new office is part of the university's 'ongoing effort to break down silos, ensuring all members of our community are connected, supported, and empowered to contribute to a thriving intellectual environment,' Hopi Hoekstra, the dean of the faculty of arts and sciences wrote in a letter on Wednesday. It comes after Harvard University renamed its 'Office for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging' to 'Community and Campus Life' in late April. Similar efforts have taken place at Harvard Medical School and the Graduate School of Education. Read more: 'Willing to capitulate': Cracks emerge in Harvard's resistance to Trump over DEI Cornell William Brooks, a professor at Harvard Kennedy School, told MassLive in May that the renaming was both a surprise and an 'even greater disappointment.' 'Why do you need to rename and rebrand that what you have long said is right as though it were wrong? Harvard has long said that it supports diversity,' said Brooks. Harvard College's renaming follows in the footsteps of MIT and Northeastern's decisions to rename their offices. MIT President Sally Kornbluth announced plans at the end of May to 'sunset' the university's Institute Community and Equity Office and remove its vice president for equity and inclusion position in a letter to the school community. The office's 'core programs' will continue, but under the purview of other offices. A reported deal between the Trump administration and the university over nearly $3 billion in federal cuts hasn't been finalized or publicized yet. Read more: Should Harvard enter into a deal with the Trump administration? A Harvard spokesperson said the college remains 'committed to cultivating a community where all of its members can thrive.' 'We look forward to broadening this mission-critical work with renewed energy,' the spokesperson said. With the launch of the new office, Hoekstra announced that its inaugural executive director will be Brenda Tindal. She is the Faculty of Arts and Sciences' chief campus curator. She has served as a member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences' Civil Discourse Working Group and as the co-chair of the Harvard & Legacy of Slavery Memorial Committee. 'In this role, Brenda will lead efforts to strengthen our academic community through initiatives that foster connection, collaboration, and a shared sense of purpose. Her work will span community-building, programmatic development, consultative services and the curation of campus spaces,' Hoekstra said. Behind Tindal will be a team of people including a managing director, department administrator, program coordinator and three divisional fellows. More Higher Ed Pro-Israel website used to compile list of ICE targets, agent testifies Trump admin renews demand for Harvard foreign student info: 'We tried to do things the easy way' Trump admin threatens Harvard's accreditation over antisemitism response Here are 5 of the biggest effects on higher ed in the 'Big Beautiful Bill' 'A day of loss': Boston University to lay off 120 people citing federal funding impacts Read the original article on MassLive.
CNN
10-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Websites serving Harvard undergraduate minority students, LGBTQ students and women taken down, The Crimson reports
Websites for Harvard College centers serving minority and LGBTQ students and women vanished Wednesday, The Harvard Crimson reported, marking the continued unraveling of diversity initiatives at the nation's most prestigious university as it faces fresh pressure from the Trump administration. Websites for the Harvard College Women's Center, the Office for BGLTQ Student Life and the Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations now redirect to a page for an Office of Culture and Community, the student newspaper reported. That office – which promotes '(e)xposure to and learning from different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences,' its site states – was announced internally just Wednesday as a replacement for the soon-to-close diversity office for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, which encompasses Harvard College, the undergraduate school and university's PhD programs. The White House welcomed the development, viewing it as a goodwill gesture one official described Thursday as 'good news.' Also Wednesday, the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services notified the New England Commission of Higher Education that Harvard is 'in violation of federal antidiscrimination laws and therefore may fail to meet the standards for accreditation set by the Commission,' according to a joint statement. That statement followed a June 30 finding by the Trump administration's Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism that Harvard was in 'violent violation' of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin in programs or activities receiving federal funding. The new Office of Culture and Community is part of an effort to 'break down silos, ensuring all members of our community are connected, supported, and empowered,' Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Hopi Hoekstra told colleagues Wednesday in a memo to which a university spokesperson directed CNN for information about the disappearance of the Harvard College website. As for its accreditation, Harvard 'continues to comply with the New England Commission of Higher Education's Standards for Accreditation, maintaining its accreditation uninterrupted since its initial review in 1929,' the spokesperson said Thursday in a statement. 'Antisemitism is a serious problem and no matter the context, it is unacceptable,' the statement said, adding the university 'has made significant strides to combat bigotry, hate and bias.' The moves Wednesday come amid a monthslong fight between Harvard and the Trump administration, which has sought to coerce the school to make changes that adhere to its more conservative ideology and less than a month ago suggested a deal was in sight. Other US universities have faced similar pressure from the White House and met at least some of its demands. At Harvard, the White House since April has frozen billions of federal dollars and threatened to yank more if Harvard does not comply, accusing the university in part of failing to adequately combat antisemitism and curb diversity practices – designed to advance racial, gender, class and other representation in public spaces – it decries as 'illegal and immoral discrimination.' Harvard in April announced it would rename its central diversity office from the Office for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging to the Office of Community and Campus Life. It also has acknowledged antisemitism is an issue, and two school task forces in late April released a pair of internal reports – one on its handling of antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias, and the other of anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian bias. Its antisemitism task force, among other proposed changes, recommended updating the admissions process to focus on the need to work alongside people of differing viewpoints and be prepared to accept disagreements. Harvard should also 'become a hub for antisemitism research' and dedicate a faculty member to its study, the task force said. 'We remain committed to ensuring members of our Jewish and Israeli community are embraced, respected, and can thrive at Harvard,' its spokesperson added Thursday. Meantime, Harvard continues to battle the Trump administration in federal court on two fronts: In one, it seeks to claw back the frozen federal funds, with a hearing set for July 21; in the other, a judge has indefinitely blocked the White House's effort to revoke Harvard's ability to enroll international students, who make up about a quarter of its enrollment. CNN's Andy Rose and Betsy Klein contributed to this report.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Harvard makes tuition free for families making less than $200K
Harvard will offer free tuition to students whose families make less than $200,000 per year beginning next year, the school announced Monday. Additionally, the entire school experience — including housing, food and other costs — will be free for students whose families make less than $100,000, university leaders said. 'We know the most talented students come from different socioeconomic backgrounds and experiences, from every state and around the globe,' said William R. Fitzsimmons, Harvard College's dean of admissions and financial aid. Harvard already offered everything free to students with family incomes below $85,000. The program began in 2004, with the initial cutoff set at $40,000. The university estimated 86% of American families will now qualify for free tuition. For the current academic year, Harvard tuition was $56,550. 'This investment in financial aid aims to make a Harvard College education possible for every admitted student, so they can pursue their academic passions and positively impact our future,' said Hopi Hoekstra, dean of the faculty of arts and sciences. A 2017 analysis determined that 67% of Harvard students came from the richest 20% of families in the U.S. At the time, the median family income for a Harvard student was $168,800. According to Harvard, more than half of its students received financial aid in the 2023-24 school year. In 2023, the school said more than 20% of students had families making less than $85,000 per year. _____
