Diversity
Rejecting Grad Union’s Title IX Request, Harvard Asks To Ban External Arbitration in All Discrimination Cases
As it negotiates with its graduate student union, Harvard is looking to excise contract language that lays out antidiscrimination protections and instead shift authority over complaints to policies and procedures maintained by the University.
House Committee To Investigate Harvard’s Hiring Practices for Racial Discrimination
Nine Republican lawmakers on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce opened an investigation into Harvard’s faculty hiring practices on Tuesday, claiming Harvard may have violated federal employment discrimination law by considering race and gender.
Nonprofit CEO John Rice Defends Diversity Efforts in HBS Class Day Speech
In a Harvard Business School Class Day address last week, John Rice, the founder and CEO of Management Leadership for Tomorrow, contended that diversity and inclusion remained important to leveling the playing field in business — and that the term had been unjustly stigmatized.
HMS Restructures and Renames Diversity Office, Removes Pledge To Fight Inequities
The Harvard Medical School renamed its diversity office and announced changes to several major DEI programs on Wednesday in the latest rollback of diversity infrastructure at Harvard.
Students Hold Unofficial Affinity Celebrations, Marked by Anger at University Decision to Withdraw Support
Eight affinity groups held celebrations for Commencement this week, despite having been denied funding and access to campus venues by Harvard officials.
Weeks After Cutting Off Support for Affinity Grad Events, Harvard Funds ASL Interpreter for Disability Celebration
After the University announced it would no longer host or fund affinity group celebrations for Commencement, Harvard funded an interpreter for a Tuesday disability affinity ceremony but told organizers to distance the event from traditional affinity celebrations held in previous years.
The Rise and Fall of DEI at Harvard
Over the past three years, Harvard has shifted its approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion programs — moving from a full-throated support to abandoning the language of DEI amid threats from a hostile White House.
6 New Members Elected to Harvard Board of Overseers
The newly-elected Overseers include Mark A. Edwards ’82, Nathaniel O. Keohane, Michael Rosenblatt, Anjali Sud, Courtney B. Vance ’82, and Mary Louise Kelly ’93.
Garber Defends Leadership Changes and DEI Office Renaming, Denies Political Pressure
Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 acknowledged concerns that the dismissal of two faculty directors at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies in March and the renaming of the University’s diversity office appeared to some as concessions to the Trump administration, but declined to explain either decision.
Khurana Reaffirms Inclusivity Commitment As Affinity Groups Organize Unsponsored Grad Celebrations
Outgoing College Dean Rakesh Khurana affirmed his commitment to inclusive programming in a Tuesday interview after Harvard announced it would no longer fund or provide campus spaces for affinity graduation celebrations.
Harvard Affinity Groups Plan Commencement Celebrations Without University Support
At least six Harvard affinity groups will host unofficial celebrations for students graduating next week following the University’s decision to revoke funding and space for the annual traditions.
EEOC Launches Investigation Into Harvard’s Hiring Practices, Alleging Title VII Violations
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission launched an investigation into Harvard in late April, alleging that the University has engaged in discriminatory hiring practices in violation of Title VII since 2018, according to documents leaked to the Washington Free Beacon.
Harvard Renames Diversity Office As Trump Demands Dismantling of DEI
Harvard will immediately rename its Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging to “Community and Campus Life,” the University announced Monday.
Harvard Will Not Fund Affinity Group Graduation Celebrations Following Ed Department Warning
Harvard will no longer host or fund affinity group celebrations during Commencement, the University’s former diversity office wrote in an email to affinity groups on Monday afternoon.