The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Monday it is looking to exclude Harvard University from federal funding because of alleged inaction on campus antisemitism.
HHS said it is referring Harvard for suspension and debarment proceedings.
If the university is found guilty, it could mean the elimination of federal funding and new federal contracts for the nation’s oldest and richest institution.
“OCR’s referral of Harvard for formal administrative proceedings reflects OCR’s commitment to safeguard both taxpayer investments and the broader public interest,” said Paula M. Stannard, the director of HHS’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR).
“Congress has empowered Federal agencies to pursue Title VI compliance through formal enforcement mechanisms, including the termination of funding or denial of future Federal financial assistance, when voluntary compliance cannot be achieved.”
“OCR has notified Harvard of its right to a formal administrative hearing, where an HHS administrative law judge will make an impartial determination on whether Harvard violated Title VI by acting with deliberate indifference towards antisemitic student-on-student harassment,” Stannard added.
Harvard has 20 days to request a hearing in response. The Hill has reached out to the university for comment.
HHS said this does not address a separate investigation into alleged race-based discrimination from the Harvard Law Review.
The recommendation comes after a judge ruled the Trump administration should restore billions of dollars it withheld from the institution. That money recently began to flow back to the university.
