June 23, 2025
To the President and Fellows of Harvard College:
We write to you today as members of Crimson Courage, a grass-roots Harvard alumni group, to vigorously support your ongoing efforts to fight the federal government’s encroachment on Harvard’s academic freedom and institutional autonomy. Just as forcefully, we urge you to remain steadfast in your commitment to the Harvard community at your Alumni Day speech on June 6th:
“…to preserve academic freedom—and our insistence that no government should dictate what we teach, who we admit and hire, and which areas of study of inquiry they can pursue…”
That stated commitment to academic freedom—grounded in the freedoms of speech, inquiry, expression, and association and anchored in a Harvard community that is safe, nurturing, and welcome to all—cannot be negotiated away nor yield to political pressure and coercion.
Harvard was the first higher education institution in the United States to offer the prerogative for students and faculty to take and teach courses of their own choosing. Harvard has benefited from our early embrace of academic freedom as seen in its world-class research as well as its graduates’ civic and business leadership across the world. Standing strong is not merely an operational exercise: it is a moral imperative. The world is watching and needs Harvard’s leadership and courage now.
Harvard’s status as a global leader in higher education would be decimated if Harvard were to compromise on these ideals. We cannot stand for “veritas” if we refuse to stand up for truth when the moment demands it or if we dilute our values because it is expedient. As you have said:
“Harvard is a strong institution, but our strength doesn’t derive from our physical resources or our financial resources. It comes from our people. If we work together effectively, there’s no limit to what we can achieve as an institution.”
The 400,000 Harvard alumni are among those people. And so are the administrations of Yale, Michigan State, University of Delaware, MIT, Dartmouth, University of Pittsburgh and other higher educational institutions across the nation who have joined Harvard in its endorsement of its academic principles. The Harvard we all know and love can persevere in the face of federal intrusion the likes of which we have never seen in the history of the United States. We alumni will stand strong—alongside you—against any attempt to extort or deny our Constitutional rights or our integrity. We have your back and we trust that you have our backs as well.