CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) – Senior members of the Harvard faculty are pledging to donate a 10% of their salaries to defend the university’s academic freedom.
88 members at this time have signed on.
“Those of us who are tenured members of the faculty, who have both job security, and also we’re in a stage of life where we’re more likely to have financial security, you know, we have mortgages paid off, many of us believe this is absolutely the right thing to do,” said Harvard Professor Robert Stavins.
In a statement, Harvard faculty said in part, “This signals our commitment as faculty members to use means at our disposal to protect the university and, especially, staff and students who do not have the same protections. We view this initiative as only one of the various ways in which we can express solidarity around the university.”
“Well, I discussed it with my wife who’s a law professor at Columbia, it took about a minute to decide,” said David Damrosch, Ernest Bernbaum Professor of Comparative Literature at Harvard.
The Trump administration is attempting to pull billions in federal funds from the University, accusing Harvard of failing to protect Jewish students from harassment and discrimination.
Trump demanded sweeping changes on campus.
The school is suing the Trump administration to stop the White House from freezing the money.
“I trust that the courts are going to beat this back, but it’s going to be a long and expensive process with multiple lawsuits,” said Damrosch. “It seems to me we should all do what we can to help.”
The Department of Homeland Security has also threatened to pull Harvard’s eligibility to admit international students if it doesn’t provide information about the student’s backgrounds.
“10% is a lot,” said Gabriela Soto Laveaga, Professor of the History of Science at Harvard. “And it will directly impact me and my family, but that means there are others, such as part time staff members or students, especially international students who are much more vulnerable in this situation than those of us who have some security of employment.”
“I just thought it was great. I think it’s great the professors and faculty are taking a stand, kind of showing a willingness to help Harvard out at this time,” said Harvard senior Alice Goyer. “I think we’re taking it day by day. Every day we don’t know what’s going to happen.”
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