Harvard University freezes hiring process amid renewed antisemitic scrutiny

Harvard University on Monday announced that it has temporarily stopped hiring new employees and professors amid renewed scrutiny over its handling of antisemitic protests that occurred on its campus last year.

The Trump administration last week announced that it would pull roughly $400 million in federal grants to fellow Ivy League school Columbia University for what it considers "the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students."

The Harvard leaders said the freeze is taking place because of “substantial financial uncertainties" caused by the new administration's crackdown, and that the freeze will remain in place for the rest of the semester.

"The hiring pause is temporary," Harvard President Alan Garber, Provost John Manning, Executive Vice President Meredith Weenick and Vice President for Finance and CFO Ritu Kalra told faculty and staff. "It is meant to preserve our financial flexibility until we better understand how changes in federal policy will take shape and can assess the scale of their impact."

Harvard's leaders also asked the leadership of the smaller schools and administrative units to "scrutinize discretionary and non-salary spending, reassess the scope and timing of capital renewal projects, and conduct a rigorous review of any new multi-year commitments."

The announcement comes the same day that the U.S. Department of Education sent notices to 60 institutions, warning them that they allegedly are not complying with Title IX obligations to protect Jewish students, The Hill reported.

Harvard possesses the largest endowment of any university in the world, estimated last October to be $53.2 billion, according to Reuters. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.