Harvard president "sorry" after reports on antisemitism, Islamophobia

Harvard University's president apologized and vowed to make changes after two internal reports on antisemitism and anti-Arab bias were released Tuesday.The big picture: The reports come as the Ivy League university is suing the Trump administration for freezing billions in federal funds in a battle that's officially about fighting antisemitism but has also become about governmental regulation of higher education.Driving the news: Task forces composed of faculty and some students released final reports, which were commissioned by the university, on Tuesday — one on campus antisemitism and another on anti-Muslim, Anti-Arab, and Anti-Palestinian bias.The first report found antisemitism to be present on campus, through class work and academic programs, in social settings and in hiring faculty.The Islamaophobia report found that 92% of surveyed Muslims believe they'd face academic or professional consequences for expressing their political beliefs."Separately and together, the task force reports reveal aspects of a charged period in our recent history, offering searing personal accounts as they hold up a mirror to our interactions with one another," said Harvard President Alan Garber, who convened the task forces, on Tuesday.What they're saying: "I am sorry for the moments when we failed to meet the high expectations we rightfully set for our community," Garber said in a letter accompanying the reports on the previous academic year."Separately and together, the task force reports reveal aspects of a charged period in our recent history, offering searing personal accounts as they hold up a mirror to our interactions with one another."Garber called the 2023-24 academic year "disappointing and painful" and said the Israel-Hamar war brought long-simmering tensions to the surface. He said the university has made "necessary changes and essential progress" over the past year but vowed to take further action to address tensions, saying "Harvard cannot — and will not — abide bigotry."Context: The Department of Human Health and Services' Office for Civil Rights demanded earlier this month that the university publish the reports by May 2, following delays.Go deeper: Trump admin launches race-based discrimination probe into Harvard Law Review

Harvard University's president apologized and vowed to make changes after two internal reports on antisemitism and anti-Arab bias were released Tuesday.The big picture: The reports come as the Ivy League university is suing the Trump administration for freezing billions in federal funds in a battle that's officially about fighting antisemitism but has also become about governmental regulation of higher education.Driving the news: Task forces composed of faculty and some students released final reports, which were commissioned by the university, on Tuesday — one on campus antisemitism and another on anti-Muslim, Anti-Arab, and Anti-Palestinian bias.

The first report found antisemitism to be present on campus, through class work and academic programs, in social settings and in hiring faculty.The Islamaophobia report found that 92% of surveyed Muslims believe they'd face academic or professional consequences for expressing their political beliefs."Separately and together, the task force reports reveal aspects of a charged period in our recent history, offering searing personal accounts as they hold up a mirror to our interactions with one another," said Harvard President Alan Garber, who convened the task forces, on Tuesday.

What they're saying: "I am sorry for the moments when we failed to meet the high expectations we rightfully set for our community," Garber said in a letter accompanying the reports on the previous academic year."Separately and together, the task force reports reveal aspects of a charged period in our recent history, offering searing personal accounts as they hold up a mirror to our interactions with one another."Garber called the 2023-24 academic year "disappointing and painful" and said the Israel-Hamar war brought long-simmering tensions to the surface.

He said the university has made "necessary changes and essential progress" over the past year but vowed to take further action to address tensions, saying "Harvard cannot — and will not — abide bigotry."Context: The Department of Human Health and Services' Office for Civil Rights demanded earlier this month that the university publish the reports by May 2, following delays.Go deeper: Trump admin launches race-based discrimination probe into Harvard Law Review.