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Updated June 9, 2025, at 3:42 p.m.

More than 12,000 Harvard alumni asked a federal judge Monday to accept an amicus brief urging the court to shield their alma mater from what they described as an “existential threat” posed by the Trump administration’s freeze of nearly $3 billion in federal research funding.

The proposed brief represents the largest-scale show of alumni support since Harvard filed suit against the White House in April, adding to a growing chorus of outside groups rallying behind the University.

The 14-page brief argued that the Trump administration’s actions represented a sweeping and unlawful attempt to control Harvard’s academic priorities and stifle free inquiry. It contended that the funding freeze endangered not only the University’s research mission but also the broader landscape of American higher education.

“The Government’s end goal is to narrow our freedoms to learn, teach, think, and act, and to claim for itself the right to dictate who may enjoy those freedoms,” the alumni wrote.

The filing supports Harvard’s May 30 motion for summary judgment, which seeks to resolve the case without a trial.

The 12,041 signatories span the Classes of 1950 through 2025 and represent all 12 of Harvard’s schools. Among them are late-night host Conan C. O’Brien ’85, novelist Margaret E. Atwood, and Massachusetts Governor Maura T. Healey ’92. Other signatories — a broad cross-section of alumni from across the country and the world — include media executives, economists, lawyers, and health ministers.

Several sitting members of Congress also signed the brief, including U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a former Crimson Editorial chair.

But no members of the Board of Overseers or the Corporation — the University’s governing bodies — signed onto the brief. The Harvard Alumni Association also had no role in organizing the effort, and no current University officials were involved in drafting or promoting the brief, according to a person familiar with the brief.

Instead, the initiative was led independently by a group of alumni affiliated with Crimson Courage, an alumni group that has emerged in strong defense of the University in recent months. In the weeks before the Monday filing, Crimson Courage circulated a draft of the brief and encouraged alumni to sign on via a Google Form.

In the filing, the alumni argued that the freeze would have far-reaching consequences beyond Harvard’s campus — disrupting innovation, economic growth, and public benefit derived from the University’s research. They pointed to a 2015 Harvard Business School study showing that alumni-founded ventures employ more than 20 million people worldwide and generate more than $3.9 trillion in annual revenue.

“We recognize that the unencumbered pursuit of knowledge at Harvard and our fellow educational institutions — where we learn how to think, not what to think; where there is no single right answer; and where we invest in creativity, experimentation, and research — serves humanity and furthers the common good,” the brief read.

The Trump administration’s funding freeze began in April, when federal agencies abruptly halted $2.2 billion in research funding to Harvard after the University opted to defy its demands. After Harvard filed suit on April 21, the administration expanded the freeze in May to include an additional $450 million and barred Harvard from receiving new federal awards.

In their filing, the alumni accused the administration of violating due process and using “bullying, coercion, and extortion” to pressure Harvard into compliance with political demands. They acknowledged that even if some federal demands were justified, such concerns must be addressed through proper legal procedures rather than punitive funding freezes.

“Values cannot be imposed by fiat,” the brief. “The heavy hand of the Government is incompatible with open inquiry, the pursuit of truth, and the academic freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment.”

Federal judge Allison D. Burroughs — who is overseeing both of Harvard’s cases against the Trump administration — has not yet ruled on whether the alumni brief will be accepted.

The alumni did not ask to file a brief in support of Harvard’s second lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security over its ability to host international students on campus. But in the brief, they endorsed Burroughs’ decision to block the DHS’ order.

Also on Monday, six additional schools — American University, Georgetown University, Stanford University, the University of Delaware, the University of Denver, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore — filed a motion seeking permission to join a Friday amicus brief submitted by 18 research institutions — including five Ivy League universities — in support of Harvard.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, 21 states, and Jewish Voice for Peace, an anti-Zionist advocacy group, also filed proposed amici briefs on Monday — the last day to submit the briefs in support of Harvard.

The Monday filing comes as students and alumni rally behind the University. In the weeks since Harvard chose to defy the White House’s demands, alumni have donated in large numbers, and University President Alan M. Garber ’76 received standing ovations — and chants of “Garber!” — at both Commencement and Harvard Alumni Day last Friday.

Oral arguments for the case are scheduled for July 21. Supporters of the defendants have until June 23 to submit amici briefs.

—Staff writer Dhruv T. Patel can be reached at dhruv.patel@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @dhruvtkpatel.

—Staff writer Grace E. Yoon can be reached at grace.yoon@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @graceunkyoon.