Harvard University¡¯s decision to push back against the demands of the Trump administration has been welcomed by its academics as a ¡°blood, sweat and tears moment¡± ¨C but many fear it will likely lead to ¡°grave consequences¡±.

The White House had demanded limits on student protests, the end of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes, and an audit of the institution¡¯s academic programmes to check for viewpoint diversity in exchange for continuing Harvard¡¯s $9 billion (?6.8 billion) in federal funding.

In the first major act of university defiance against the new Republican regime, Harvard president Alan Garber rejected the demands in a letter, warning that the institution ¡°will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights¡±.

Homi K. Bhabha, professor of English and American literature at Harvard, said there would have been ¡°uproar¡± among staff had the university ceded to the demands because Trump¡¯s aim is to humiliate the sector.

ÍøÆØÃÅ

¡°Nobody makes these inroads into freedoms and inroads into liberal autonomy and decision making of institutions, unless they¡¯re going to renew this reign of terror, so everybody knows that they will come back for more. You have to make a stand.¡±

Noting that other colleges, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, had also since expressed opposition to Trump, Bhabha said there was a ¡°new spirit in the air¡±.

ÍøÆØÃÅ

¡°The reaction has been cautiously optimistic because we don¡¯t know what the response will be¡­but there is a new sense of solidarity and purposefulness.¡±

Ryan Enos, a professor of government at Harvard, said there was an ¡°almost universal¡± sense of excitement, pride and relief across campus at the decision to ¡°stand up and fight¡±.

¡°This is an example of Harvard living up to its values. Harvard had a real moment there where it could have done something that it would have regretted in the long term and be something that would be a stain on its history, and instead it chose to do the right thing, and for people associated with Harvard, that really gives you a lot more faith in the institution.¡±

Many scholars had been concerned that it would give in to Trump¡¯s demands, as Columbia University did, and trigger a ¡°domino effect¡± across the rest of the sector, he added.

Campus spotlight guide: What can universities do to protect academic freedom?

¡°People had been waiting to see what was going to happen because they knew that this was such a crucial step for higher education.

¡°This could be the start of, not only for higher education but for civil society, to push back on what the Trump administration was doing.¡±

Enos said university leadership understand Trump will try to ¡°punish¡± Harvard in response. He has already frozen over $2 billion of its grants and contracts and suggested he could come after?its tax-exempt status.

ÍøÆØÃÅ

¡°Things are going to get worse before they get better. One of the things that we¡¯ve learned very directly over the past few days is just how much benefit there is to fighting.

ÍøÆØÃÅ

¡°The relief that comes from fighting back and the momentum that that spurs is really important¡­that kind of contagion of courage has a value unto itself.¡±

Not all are in support. The Harvard Republican Club criticised Garber¡¯s refusal to ¡°comply with federal requests to reverse ideological capture¡±.

?¡°It is not the constitutional right of any private university to receive federal funding in perpetuity,¡± it added in a statement.

?Fernando Reimers, Ford Foundation professor of practice in international education, said many staff recognise there is work to do in addressing antisemitism but that the vast majority are supportive of the leadership¡¯s position.

Garber, a Jewish physician, was appointed to the role on an interim basis after his predecessor Claudine Gay was forced out amid controversial congressional hearings into antisemitism on campus.

While Trump has promised the funding pause will not affect hospitals affiliated with Harvard, Reimers said there will be ¡°grave consequences¡± from the suspension of research contracts and stalling of scientific advancements.

¡°This decision is all the more courageous because the pain it will inflict is so obvious, careers will be destroyed, research projects cancelled, lives of patients not cared for lost.

¡°This is truly a blood, sweat and tears moment, of great sacrifice, in service of the essential values of the modern research university in a democratic society.¡±

ÍøÆØÃÅ

In addition, Reimers warned that the administration¡¯s attempts to ¡°blackmail¡± universities into political submission will trigger an ¡°unprecedented brain drain¡± on scientific research.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com