Why Harvard is planning a conservative institute amid pressure from Trump

A Harvard official described the effort as one that would "promote and support viewpoint diversity" rather than a politically driven effort, but one that would encourage serious, evidence-based debate.

Harvard University is proceeding with in-house discussions to establish a new academic center that can serve as a destination for conservative and classical liberal scholarship. The project, years in development in whispers, gained momentum in the autumn of 2023 following student demonstrations on university campuses about the Israel-Palestine war and increasing political pressure from the Trump administration. The planned center, which could cost between $500 million and $1 billion to construct, would be among the largest higher-education centers in the country, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people briefed on the plans.

A Harvard official described the effort as one that would "promote and support viewpoint diversity" rather than a politically driven effort, but one that would encourage serious, evidence-based debate. The initiative is part of Harvard President Alan Garber's broader initiative to revive "intellectual vitality" and reduce self-censorship on campus. A 2024 campus survey of universities showed that only a third of graduating seniors felt at ease arguing about contentious subjects, and just 3% of Harvard College faculty were conservative, according to a 2023 campus newspaper poll.

Trump administration targets Harvard

The proposal for such an institute is caught in the middle of an ongoing standoff with the Trump administration, which has been critical of top universities as being left-leaning, antisemitic and "discriminatory" in their approach to diversity. The White House responded by freezing billions of federal dollars, threatening the university's tax-exempt status and its autonomy regarding admissions and hiring. The Department of Education, headed by Secretary Linda McMahon, is spearheading the effort, one that Harvard has been battling in court. A hearing is imminent later this month.

Internal support and donor interest

Though Harvard has not officially supported concrete plans, some university officials, such as Provost John Manning, have reportedly been involved in talks with potential donors. Even erstwhile Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria had entertained the possibility before quitting in 2020. Some members of the Harvard Corporation—the university's highest governing body—have reportedly deemed the plan a rational response to demands for intellectual balance at no cost to Harvard's intellectual freedom.

Hoover Institution as role model

The proposed institute would be modeled after Stanford University's Hoover Institution, whose right-leaning intellectual center and advocacy for free markets and limited government have established it as a power to be reckoned with. Both these institutions have risen in stature as a national movement on public universities in states that lean conservative. Arizona State University, University of Florida, and University of North Carolina already have civic education schools and schools of classical thought, often with bipartisan or nonpartisan organizations.

Trump's agenda and Harvard pushback

President Trump has fought war against elite academia as a political foe, denouncing what he describes as a "Marxist attack" on American values and demanding structural transformation. But Harvard President Garber has been resolute on fundamental principles, including the university's right to determine whom it hires and what faculty members teach. The proposed center would allow Harvard to foster greater ideological diversity without ceding authority to the federal government. Nevertheless, Trump administration officials were reported to consider the institute inadequate unless complemented by greater institutional overhauls.

Negotiations are tense

Efforts at a resolution are ongoing, with Harvard considering the latest White House offer after earlier offers did not materialize. Secretary McMahon reported to the cabinet this week that they were making some headway but acknowledged delays. Columbia University has also reportedly been in negotiations with federal officials regarding similar demands. For Harvard, the result could decide not only federal funding, but the future of academic freedom and intellectual debate on campus.