Garber Presidency to Continue
The Harvard Corporation announced in December 2025 that President Alan M. Garber, whose term was to end in 2027, would continue to serve indefinitely. Garber, Harvard’s 31st president, has been praised for his rational and unflappable presence since assuming the presidency, even as the partnership with the federal government to conduct research on its behalf has come undone.
Senior Fellow Penny Pritzker said Garber “is both principled and pragmatic…deliberative and decisive…respectful of tradition and intent on innovation...He models open-mindedness and civility, with compassion toward others, a selfless concern for Harvard’s best interests, and an unwavering focus on how Harvard can best serve the wider world.”
Courts Weigh Research Funding
In mid-December, the Trump administration appealed a September 3, 2025 U.S. District Court ruling that restored more than $2.2 billion in funding to Harvard. Judge Allison D. Burroughs had found the government violated Harvard’s First Amendment rights by withholding funding in retaliation for protected speech and had failed to follow procedures mandated by the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Separately, in an early January ruling that affects all universities, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit made permanent an injunction barring the National Institutes of Health from retroactively capping federal reimbursement of indirect costs associated with research, such as utilities, rent, and laboratory equipment.
Donors Support Ph.D. Candidates
Amid the uncertainty in research funding, a group of alumni donors has contributed $50 million to create an endowment fund for Ph.D. students in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), with the aim of raising another $50 million in matching gifts by the end of June. The initiative, dubbed the Research Accelerator Challenge, will allow the FAS to admit more graduate students across its divisions (science, social science, arts and humanities) as well as in the Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). FAS leaders say the endowment will allow Harvard to compete for the best Ph.D. candidates and enable the kind of high risk, high reward research that leads to scientific breakthroughs.
“Graduate student support is a top priority for faculty across our Divisions and SEAS,” Hopi Hoekstra, the Edgerly dean of the faculty, wrote to students and faculty in February. “This initiative reflects a shift from responding to constraints to investing strategically in our core academic activities.”
Looking to Corporate Partnerships
Threats to federal research funding have made corporate partnerships and technology licensing an increasingly important source of revenue. On January 2, Sam Liss, formerly the executive director of strategic partnerships in Harvard’s Office of Technology Development (OTD), succeeded Isaac Kohlberg as head of the department. Senior vice provost for research John Shaw, to whom Liss will report as part of a reorganization of the OTD, noted that “this is a key moment for industry engagement at the University.”
Rhodes and Marshall Scholars Named
Nine Rhodes and five Marshall scholars from Harvard will study in the U.K. in 2026. Rhodes scholars in the College class of 2026 include Americans Anil Cacodcar, Emma Finn, and Yael S. Goldstein, and international students Sazi Bongwe, Je Qin “Jay” Chooi, Hairong “Helen” He, Fajr Khan, and Will J. Flintoft. Harvard Law School student Omid E. Yeganeh, from Canada, is the ninth Rhodes scholar. Marshall scholarships were awarded to four members of the class of 2026—Kashish Bastola, Hannah Duane, Tenzin Gund-Morrow, Ashwin Sivakumar—and one alumna, Edith O. “Tomi” Siyanbade ’23.
Nota Bene
Two interfaculty initiatives have new leaders. Rita Hamad, professor of social epidemiology and public policy, is the next faculty director of the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies. Lesser professor in early childhood development Stephanie Jones will be the faculty director of the Center on the Developing Child…Following a December shooting at Brown University, a Harvard ID is required to enter all FAS buildings until at least the end of the spring semester…The spring 2026 visiting fellows at Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics are former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, and former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, a Democrat.
