A high-school English teacher in Utah. An apple grower in New Hampshire. A 96-year-old former Republican congressman from Ohio. Massachusetts governor Maura Healey ’92. Comedian Conan O’Brien ’85.
These were among the 12,000 alumni who signed an amicus brief submitted Monday in support of Harvard’s lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s freeze of nearly $3 billion in federal funding. The brief includes signatories from every graduating class since 1950 and every Harvard degree-granting school. It is the largest known alumni brief ever filed, says Anurima Bhargava ’96, who helped write the brief and circulate it among alumni.
The 14-page filing argues that the Trump administration’s efforts to control Harvard’s teaching, admissions, and governance violate core constitutional freedoms. Those freedoms, alumni say, are essential to preparing graduates to serve their communities and strengthen democracy—a mission reflected in the careers of the politicians, nonprofit leaders, business owners, academics, entrepreneurs, and artists who signed.
“What binds us as Harvard alumni is our shared sense of how Harvard’s mission and values continue to inspire our commitment to make a difference in the world,” the alumni wrote. “Harvard instilled a sense of moral obligation to stand up for our freedoms and convictions, transformed trauma into purpose, grounded our pursuit and exploration of wisdom and truths, and energized our commitment to the founding ideals of American democracy.”
The filing backs Harvard’s May 30 motion for summary judgment, which asked the court to decide the case without a trial. Alumni did not submit a brief in Harvard’s separate lawsuit over its ability to host international students, but Monday’s brief criticized the Trump administration’s attempt to “curtail and destroy the educational lives of international students and scholars.”
One goal of the filing was to show that the Trump administration’s actions hurt ordinary citizens across the country. “In so many ways, this is not about an attack on the elite,” Bhargava said. Many signatories were first-generation college students whose Harvard educations were made possible by financial aid; many alumni have gone on to serve their communities by working in small businesses, local government, or religious institutions.
Among the signatories are several members of Congress, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer ’71, J.D. ’74; Tim Kaine, J.D. ’83; and Richard Blumenthal ’67.
No alumni currently serving on the Harvard Corporation or Board of Overseers signed, as they are parties to the lawsuit. The Harvard Alumni Association did not organize the initiative because it represents all alumni and cannot assume a unified position, Bhargava said.
Instead, Bhargava and a group of fellow alumni led the drafting and recruited others to help circulate the brief. Bhargava, who cofounded the group Crimson Courage to support the University in recent months, said the brief was not an official Crimson Courage initiative. Instead, news of the brief spread informally, as alumni circulated a Google form across email lists, Facebook groups, special interest groups, and other alumni networks.
“Hundreds of people helped out in getting [the brief] to their friends and their classmates,” Bhargava said. “It was a collective effort by alumni that didn’t have any particular central force to it.”
In the days since the brief was submitted, hundreds more alumni have added their names in support on the Google form, even though the court deadline has passed. “I think it’s tapping into a real desire to play a role in this fight in some way,” Bhargava said.
A group of attorneys general, two dozen universities, and civil liberties groups also filed amicus briefs backing Harvard on Monday. Their filings warn that the Trump administration’s actions will have consequences for academic freedom, scientific progress, and university governance that extend far beyond Harvard.
“It is…no surprise that so many people throughout this country and across the globe have rallied for Harvard to stand up and present a strong front line,” alumni wrote in their brief, “as Harvard is just the beginning in this unnecessary and unprecedented war on education.”
Oral arguments for the case are scheduled to take place in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, in Boston, on July 21.
