New Fellows on the Corporation
Richard P. Lifton, president of The Rockefeller University, has been elected to the Harvard Corporation effective July 1. Lifton succeeds Shirley M. Tilghman, president emerita of Princeton and a distinguished molecular biologist who helped shape the University’s life-sciences strategy. Like his predecessor, Lifton, a specialist in human genetics and genomics, brings experience in leading an outstanding research institution as well as in high-level biological sciences. Life sciences are a top priority for Harvard—and are under severe pressure given the Trump administration’s assault on the University (see page 36), which has led to a cessation of federal research funding. Also joining the Corporation on July 1 will be Kannon K. Shanmugam ‘92, J.D. ‘98, who succeeds Theodore V. Wells Jr., J.D.-M.B.A. ’76. Like Wells, Shanmugam is a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison and has an array of impressive accomplishments in the legal field. He has argued 39 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, and more than 150 appeals in state courts and all 13 federal courts of appeals. He founded his firm’s Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation Practice and served as cochair of the American Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Committee, regularly ranked as the nation’s leading appellate attorneys. Shanmugam has also devoted his time to education as a trustee of the University of Kansas Endowment and the Association of Marshall Scholars.
New Harvard College Dean
David Deming, an economist who studies education, labor markets, and economic inequality, will serve as the next dean of Harvard College. He is the Isabelle and Scott Black professor of political economy and previously served as both academic dean and director of the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy. At the Harvard Graduate School of Education, he is a professor of education and economics; he will relinquish his role as the faculty dean of Kirkland House upon taking up his new position (see harvardmag.com/new-college-dean-deming).
International Students’ Enrollment at Risk
The federal government revoked Harvard’s certification for enrolling international students on May 22, before a federal judge temporarily halted the action the following day. President Alan M. Garber wrote to members of the Harvard community on May 23 to “condemn this unlawful and unwarranted action...[that] imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars across Harvard and serves as a warning to countless others at colleges and universities throughout the country who have come to America to pursue their education and fulfill their dreams.” The move to revoke Harvard’s certification came without explanation or the citation of “any regulation with which Harvard failed to comply,” according to a complaint filed by the University in federal court.
Research Battles Continue
On April 21, Harvard filed suit against the federal government, arguing that the government’s funding freeze—threatening at least $2.2 billion in research grants—violates the First Amendment and the established procedures for curtailing campus violations of civil rights. The demands imposed by the government, President Alan M. Garber wrote in a community-wide email, “would impose unprecedented and improper control over the University.” Alumni and others reacted with an outpouring of support (see harvardmag.com/harvard-sues-trump-administration).
At the May 6 Faculty of Arts and Sciences meeting, Dean Hopi Hoekstra outlined steps that FAS is taking to maintain ongoing research as much as possible despite the loss of federal funding, a process that is playing out across the University. A week later, President Alan M. Garber announced that $250 million would be disbursed from central University funds to support critical research activity for a transitional period.
In fiscal year 2024, the federal government funded about $700 million of Harvard’s research; non-federal sources, such as private foundations, contributed about $300 million; and Harvard provided about $500 million. (The federal government’s freeze covers many multi-year grants.) As research teams disband, top researchers and students report offers to take their expertise abroad, especially to Europe and China.
Faculty Research Honored
Amid the chaos over federal research funding, Harvard scholars continued to be recognized for their research. Three Harvard scientists were among the six recipients of the 2025 Breakthrough Prizes awarded in April: Alberto Ascherio, professor of epidemiology and nutrition, for his work linking Epstein-Barr virus infection to multiple sclerosis; Joel Habener, professor of medicine, for contributing to the discovery of the GLP-1 peptide, which underlies the new generation of diabetes and obesity drug therapies; and David Liu, Cabot professor of the natural sciences, for the development of gene-editing platforms.
Overseers’ Leaders
Sylvia Mathews Burwell ’87, former president of American University and former secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will serve as president of the Board of Overseers during the 2025-2026 academic year. Monica Bharel, M.P.H. ’12, a physician and former commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, will serve as vice chair of the executive committee. They succeed Vivian Hunt ’89, M.B.A. ’95, and Tyler Jacks ’83.
Consistency in Discipline
President Alan M. Garber is establishing a process to ensure consistency in discipline across Harvard’s many schools. Centralization of certain discipline cases, in which the right to speak freely is balanced against the community’s right “to learn, teach, research, live, and work without interference or disruption,” is something critics have advocated for since Israel-Palestine protests began on campus. “Certainly, different consequences may be appropriate for similar conduct by a first-year undergraduate as opposed to a third-year professional school student,” Garber said in a letter to the University community on April 24. “But no student should receive different discipline based on nothing more than the Harvard School(s) in which they are enrolled.”
DEI Office Renamed
Harvard has renamed its Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging to the Office for Community and Campus Life. Shortly after the renaming, the new office informed affinity groups via email that it would not host or fund affinity group Commencement celebrations this year. The changes come amid mounting pressure from the federal government to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in higher education (see harvardmag.com/diversity-office-renamed and harvardmag.com/harvard-affinity-graduations).
University Secretary Named
Suzanne Glassburn, formerly of MIT, has been named secretary of the University, the chief administrative officer for the Corporation and the other governing boards. Glassburn will succeed Marc Goodheart ’81, J.D. ’85, who has held the position—a powerful behind-the-scenes role with duties that range from guiding Corporation reforms to handing out honorary degrees at Commencement—since 1998 (see harvardmag.com/glassburn-university-secretary).
Faculty Senate Plans Move Forward
Planning for a University-wide, cross-school faculty senate will continue this summer, reported Conant University Professor Danielle Allen at the May 6 meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Faculty concerns about University governance precipitated this effort to enhance communication between the faculties and the Corporation. Eight of Harvard’s nine schools—all but Harvard Business School—have been involved in the planning to date. Draft bylaws are expected in the fall (see harvardmag.com/harvard-faculty-meeting-spring-2025).
