Harvard, in Yet Another Blow, Now Faces Federal Probe Over Faculty Hiring

Harvard University can’t seem to catch a break — for better or for worse.The Ivy League school is now facing yet another probe from the federal government, this time over Harvard’s faculty hiring process, which the administration suspects unlawfully considers race and sex. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, now the sixth federal agency to launch a probe into Harvard, cited documents from the school’s own website as evidence of potentially unlawful conduct. The investigation, though launched on April 25, was first reported this week by the Washington Free Beacon. The agency cites charts from Harvard’s website — most of which have since been deleted — in which the school touts its success in increasing the number of “women, non-binary, and/or people of color” on the faculty payroll. One chart shows how white males were the only demographic to decline as a share of tenured faculty between 2013 and 2023. In contrast, the share of non-white tenured faculty rose to 22 percent from 16 percent. Both men of color and women of color saw a boost during that time period, as did white women. The largest 10-year increase was seen in the share of non-white faculty on track to receive tenure, which rose 37 percent. The EEOC commissioner, Andrea Lucas, thus raised the agency’s concerns that Harvard “may have violated and may be continuing to violate” federal restrictions on employment discrimination by “engaging in a pattern or practice of disparate treatment against white, Asian, male, or straight employees, applicants, and training program participants” in hiring, promotion, and compensation decisions. Ms. Lucas also takes aim at several of Harvard’s fellowship and training programs, which she charges exhibit a “pattern or practice of discrimination.” She cites as examples several Harvard Medical School summer research programs that specifically recruit undergraduates belonging to “underrepresented groups,” among other scholarships and programs. The probe adds to the mounting offensives levied by the current administration against Harvard University. The first big move came in April, when the Department of Justice’s antisemitism task force froze $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard after the school refused to implement a list of broad reforms to quash antisemitism and anti-conservative bias on campus. Harvard is challenging the government in federal court. Now, Harvard finds itself fielding retaliation from the government on nearly all fronts. President Trump wants to revoke its tax-exempt status. The Department of Homeland Security wants to deny it visas for its foreign students. Secretary McMahon has threatened to cut off new federal grants. The EEOC has now joined the back of that line. Amid the government’s multi-front crackdown, Harvard’s president, Alan Garber, sent a letter to the Department of Education on Monday in which he claimed that Harvard and the administration “share common ground on a number of critical issues” like combatting campus antisemitism and fostering a “multiplicity of viewpoints.”Mr. Garber argued, however, that Harvard’s “efforts to achieve these goals are undermined and threatened by the federal government’s overreach into the constitutional freedoms of private universities and its continuing disregard of Harvard’s compliance with the law.” He also pushed back against the allegations regarding Harvard’s faculty hiring process, stating that employment at the school is “based on merit and achievement.”He wrote: “We do not have quotas, whether based on race or ethnicity or any other characteristic. We do not employ ideological litmus tests. We do not use diversity, equity, and inclusion statements in our hiring decisions. We hire people because of their individual accomplishments, promise, and creativity in their fields or areas of expertise, and their ability to communicate effectively with students, faculty, and staff.”

Harvard, in Yet Another Blow, Now Faces Federal Probe Over Faculty Hiring

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