Harvard University is now scrambling for corporate funding after President Trump revoked over $2 billion in federal grants, citing campus anti‑Semitism and discriminatory DEI policies. This pivot underscores the university’s weakened position under conservative scrutiny.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Harvard is “ramping up conversations with big technology and pharmaceutical companies in efforts to drive more corporate funding so research stays active.” These negotiations are still in early stages, with no firm deals yet secured.
The funding shortfall stems from Trump’s aggressive stance: he “frozen nearly $3 billion in federal funding from Harvard,” revoked its international student visa authority, and threatened to remove its tax‑exempt status if it continued “pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting ‘Sickness.’”
As federal dollars dried up, even Harvard Medical School’s Wyss Institute and T.H. Chan School of Public Health felt the hit. Chan school managing director Sarah Branstrator warned, “The situation is far more dire at the Chan school than any other Harvard school.… That has prompted immediate action out of sheer necessity.”
Harvard’s move to corporate bailouts reveals how ideological stances can destabilize academic independence. By leaning on private funding, the university risks ceding influence to corporations and compromising research integrity.
