We are Harvard alumni standing up for academic freedom at Harvard and beyond
Higher education and academic freedom are under assault
Harvard’s bold and principled risk in standing up for a free democratic society has already inspired other universities to do the same.
We hope you are moved to join the Crimson Courage community and to help us in our urgent defense of our alma mater and higher education across the nation. Please also consider an unrestricted donation of any amount to Harvard to signal that you support the university.
Events
Crimson Courage and Stand Up for Yale Team Up at the 141st Playing of The Game
We want to thank all of the many fantastic volunteers who handed out stickers and collected signatures for our letter both in New Haven and at watch parties across the world! We have thousands of signatures with more being added by the minute!
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Crimson Courage and Stand Up for Yale Partner on Sign-on Letter to Leaders of Both Harvard and Yale
On November 19, Crimson Courage and Stand Up for Yale released a joint sign-on letter just before the 141st playing of The Game. The text is below. Harvard and Yale alums are encouraged to sign on here.
To the President and Fellows of Yale and Harvard:
Harvard and Yale have a 150-year-long, storied rivalry on the gridiron, in scholarship, and in academics. We compete. We push each other. The fates of our schools have long been intertwined. And when one of us is threatened, we are both threatened.
The past year brought an existential threat to higher education, scientific innovation, and artistic excellence in this country. If it was not already clear last spring, it is clear now: no university is safe. Schools like Brown and the University of Pennsylvania agreed to “deals” with the Trump Administration to restore research funding to which they were already entitled and were then asked to relinquish even more of their independence for supposed preference in federal grants.
When Ivy League schools, with incomparable resources and alumni networks, fold in the face of extortion due to political expediency, why would other colleges and universities try to fight for their own independence? It sends a message to our academic communities that self-censorship and preemptive acquiescence are preferable to fighting for principle. And it sends a message to the rest of the country and the world that our most learned institutions stand not even for themselves.
While Yale has not seen the draconian demands that Harvard has endured, the potential loss of millions in grants still hurts everyone in the Yale community: students, faculty, researchers and staff. But there is an antidote to the fear-mongering: Courage. And courage is contagious. Harvard has shown that when it comes to academic freedom, lux and veritas are key to defeating illegal ultimatums. When Yale faces similar bad faith demands, untethered from the law, we urge it to fight with equal resolve. While Yale and Harvard may have their own ways of fighting the onslaught of illegal pronouncements and financial coercion, we are sure both institutions can rise to the challenge.
As we enter the next year of inevitable threats to our democracy, academic integrity, free inquiry and our once world-leading system of higher education, we the undersigned alumni of Yale and Harvard ask the leadership of our respective universities to be proactive in fighting for academic freedom — not just for their own self-preservation, but for the future of higher education at large. Stand strong in the face of unlawful demands. Do not sign the Trump Compact or any other agreement that undermines your academic integrity. We must hang together or else we will hang separately. Yale and Harvard can and should bravely lead the way. Your alumni are here to back you up.
Past open letters to Harvard from Crimson Courage
On October 21, Crimson Courage sent an open letter to the President and Fellows of Harvard urging a strong public stance on the “Compact” and protection of academic freedom.
On August 1, Crimson Courage released a sign-on letter to the President and Fellows of Harvard University calling for Harvard to uphold its independence; reject political interference in institutional decision-making; protect students, researchers, faculty and staff; safeguard academic integrity; establish direct, ongoing engagement with faculty, staff, students, and researchers; refuse punitive financial penalties; and use Harvard’s financial and institutional resources to protect and honor the education and livelihoods of Harvard’s students, faculty, staff, and researchers. You can still add your name to the over 17,000 signers of that letter—no Harvard affiliation is required. Click here to read and sign.
On June 23, Crimson Courage sent a letter to the President and Fellows of Harvard University (President Garber, the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers), the Harvard Alumni Association, and the Deans of all 12 Harvard schools urging them to resist compromising our values or integrity in any sort of deal with the federal government.
On July 10, The Harvard Crimson reported that the diversity office at the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences (which includes Harvard College) had been “replaced” amid a “DEI purge”. Also shuttered were the Harvard College Women’s Center, Office for BGLTQ Student Life, and Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations. Crimson Courage sent a letter to President Alan Garber, The Harvard Corporation, and the Overseers stating our deep concerns about these capitulations to the unreasonable demands of the federal government.
June 27 Statement on the resignation of UVA President James E. Ryan
We at Crimson Courage are saddened and deeply concerned by the resignation of University of Virginia’s president James E. Ryan under coercive pressure from both the Department of Justice and the university’s own Board of Directors.
Dr. Ryan’s forced resignation is another step toward the control of higher education. It’s clear the federal administration will continue to use the leverage of funding to chill academic freedom, freedom of speech and institutional governance. Ryan’s resignation is a clarion call not only for Harvard, but for all universities to stand together against government interference and to fight for academic autonomy, free scientific inquiry and democracy in higher education.
Join Our Community
By joining the grassroots Crimson Courage community, you gain opportunities to:
Support Harvard’s freedom from government interference;
Endorse academic freedom and freedom of speech;
Oppose federal efforts to suppress voices, censor vital scholarship, and diminish the presence of varied populations and viewpoints;
Improve on-campus communication and mutual respect among people from different backgrounds;
Collaborate with other universities and organizations in advocacy for independent higher education nationally; and
Add your voice to the dialogue surrounding issues of academic independence across the nation.
Support Crimson Courage by joining our email list, volunteering, and/or donating.
Complete the form linked below to volunteer for Crimson Courage.
Crimson Courage News
Crimson Courage Co-Chairs Pen Op-Ed in U.S. News & World Report
Co-Chairs Patty Nolan and Miles Rapoport placed in op-ed in U.S. News on October 3. It reads in part:
“We believe that as Harvard negotiates with the government, it must stand firm in upholding academic freedom and not allow the government to have any hand in admissions, hiring, promotions, disciplinary procedures or governance. Any potential deal must reject federal monitoring, oversight and interference in Harvard’s core functions, including what is taught, how and by whom. Harvard must protect students, faculty, researchers and staff – including international citizens. Last, but also crucial, any deal must not include extortionary payments to the government to unlock federal grants.
Why are we so concerned about laying out the terms of an acceptable potential deal? Because we know that the Trump administration has sought – with some success – influence and oversight of admissions, hiring, disciplinary procedures, protest rules, athletics and even academic departments at some of the nation’s leading institutions.”
Click here to read the whole op-ed (note: paywall)
Harvard Wins a Decisive Victory in Lawsuit
Crimson Courage, the Harvard grass-roots alumni group, applauds US District Judge Allison D. Burroughs’ summary judgement against the cancellation of $2.7 billion of research grants to Harvard.
According to Crimson Courage’s legal adviser, Anurima Bhargava, “This is an unabashed win. This win is not only for academic freedom and civil liberties at Harvard, but also a testament to the courage of the students, faculty, employees and alumni who have spoken truth to power on the behalf of higher education, human rights and civil society.”
In the words of Judge Burroughs, “Now it is the job of the courts to similarly step up, to act to safeguard academic freedom and freedom of speech as required by the Constitution, and to ensure that important research is not improperly subjected to arbitrary and procedurally infirm grant terminations, even if doing so risks the wrath of a government committed to its agenda no matter the cost.”
Academic freedom is not transactional: it is the first principle for free inquiry, civil discourse and the preservation of democracy. We will continue the fight for our constitutional rights for students, faculty, workers and all of society. The battle is just beginning.
More than 12,000 Harvard Alumni Sign Historic Amicus Brief In Support Of Academic Freedom and Institutional Independence
The largest known alumni brief from a single university in American history unites Harvard alumni from all 50 states and around the world, with signatories from every graduating class from the Class of 1950 to the Class of 2025.
In a historic show of solidarity, more than 12,000 Harvard alumni from all 50 U.S. states and countries around the world have submitted an amicus curiae brief in support of Harvard in President and Fellows of Harvard College v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, now pending before Judge Allison Burroughs in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The lawsuit challenges the Trump Administration’s decision to withhold $2.2 billion in funding as part of its escalating and unlawful campaign of coercion and retaliation against Harvard (Harvard's legal complaint can be found here.).
The amicus brief—drafted by attorneys who are Harvard alumni—is an unprecedented instance of individual Harvard alumni taking legal action together, and includes alumni from all of Harvard’s degree-granting schools. Alumni - across generations, professions, political affiliations, geographies, and backgrounds - speak to their shared commitment to truth, service, academic independence and the central place of education in American life.
The amicus brief was open for signature by Harvard degree holders from any school or department in the university, irrespective of nationality or citizenship.
Although the deadline to sign the amicus brief for the court filing has passed, alumni can still sign to indicate support for Harvard’s legal case. Sign here.
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Your financial support enables us to keep fighting for academic freedom at Harvard and across the country. Thank you for clicking below to make a tax-deductible donation to Crimson Courage.