Harvard head apologises as scathing reports on campus prejudice released

Harvard University President Alan Garber has apologised following the release of internal reports into antisemitic and anti-Muslim prejudice at America’s oldest university.

The reports included testimony from students who described feeling alienated and pressured to conceal their identity from their peers and educators.

In response to the findings, Harvard pledged to review its academic offerings and admissions policies – a key demand of the White House, which accuses the Ivy League institution of failure to stamp out campus antisemitism.

A pair of taskforces were established to look into bias at Harvard in the aftermath of last year’s pro-Palestinian protests over the Israel-Gaza war.

“I’m sorry for the moments when we failed to meet the high expectations we rightfully set for our community,” Dr Garber said in a letter on Tuesday accompanying the reports.

He said the Hamas attack on Israel of 7 October 2023, and the ensuing Israeli bombardment of Gaza unleashed “long-simmering tensions” on Harvard’s campus.

“Members of our community reported incidents that led them to feel targeted and shunned on the basis of their identities,” Dr Garber said.

“Harvard cannot – and will not – abide bigotry,” his statement added.

The twin internal reports list some “actions and commitments”, including that Harvard will review admissions processes.

The college said it would aim to ensure applicants are evaluated based on their ability to “engage constructively with different perspectives, show empathy and participate in civil discourse”.

But the proposed remedial action appears to fall short of the White House’s demands for Harvard to end all preferences “based on race, color, national origin, or proxies thereof” and implement “merit-based” policies by August.

The Trump administration has threatened to ban the university from enrolling foreign students and strip its tax exempt status if it does not comply.

In response, Harvard has sued the federal government to block the measures, including the freezing of more than $2bn in academic grants.

Lawyers for Harvard argue the government violated the university’s constitutional rights and federal funding was being used as “leverage to gain control of academic decision making” on campus.

Dr Garber, who is Jewish, last month wrote in a letter to students that he had personally “experienced antisemitism directly, even while serving as president”.

He did not offer details, but said it led him to understand “how damaging it can be to a student”.