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Updated September 9, 2025, at 7:50 p.m.
Harvard Provost John F. Manning ’82 said the University still has “much work to do” in a rare public appearance on Friday at Memorial Church, where he discussed his own spiritual development at Harvard.
Manning’s brief remarks at the regular Morning Prayers service followed a similar speech by Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 at the start of the fall term on Tuesday. But Manning, who has shunned the spotlight since becoming provost, prayed for the University’s future and described how Harvard connected him to his Jewish faith.
“It was Harvard that taught me to aspire to a life of meaning and purpose,” Manning said. “It was Harvard that taught me not to be afraid to fail, and not to be ashamed if I do.”
Two days earlier, Manning and the rest of Harvard’s top officials were granted a major victory in their legal case against the Trump administration when a judge struck down its nearly $2.7 billion dollar freeze in research funding.
Manning, a constitutional law scholar who served as dean of Harvard Law School for seven years, did not address Trump or the ruling on Friday — nor did he discuss simmering debates over Harvard’s response to antisemitism complaints, its academic culture, and protections for campus free speech. But he acknowledged that there were still changes that the University could make to better support its students.
“It’s certainly not been an easy time for Harvard, for my alma mater, and we still have much work to do,” Manning told the crowd.
Neither Garber nor Chief Community and Campus Life Officer Sherri A. Charleston directly addressed the controversy in their Morning Prayers remarks this week.
Since April, the Trump administration has terminated a slew of research grants, halting hundreds of grants by mid-May. When Harvard refused to concede to the White House’s demands, the administration’s scope of attacks expanded, endangering the visa statuses of the University’s international students.
Manning on Friday appeared hopeful that Harvard would maintain its academic and institutional freedom.
“I pray today that we will always be a place that not only deepens human knowledge through our research and teaching, but also comes to meet those who have traveled far to dream of better lives,” he said.
Manning, who received both an undergraduate and law degree from Harvard, described the formative nature of education at the University to his life. He recounted attending a Memorial Church service as an HLS student in 1983, which he said was the start of a long journey toward connecting with his faith.
Following the service, Manning shook hands and made conversation with each of the churchgoers as they exited the chapel before heading back into University Hall.
—Staff writer Grace E. Yoon can be reached at grace.yoon@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @graceunkyoon.
