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Read the Trump Administration Letter About Harvard Contracts [1]
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Date: 2025-05-27
GSA U.S. General Services Administration May 27, 2025 Dear Agency Senior Procurement Executive: Re: Review for Termination or Transition of Harvard University Contracts The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is assisting all federal agencies in a review for termination or transition of their federal government contracts with Harvard University and affiliates. This review aligns with the Administration's directive that all federal contracted services steadfastly uphold and advance agency strategic priorities. As you know, being a counterparty with the federal government comes with the deep responsibility and commitment to abide by all federal laws and ensure the safeguarding of taxpayer money. As fiduciaries to the taxpayer, the government has a duty to ensure that procurement dollars are directed to vendors and contractors who promote and champion principles of nondiscrimination and the national interest. As relevant here, GSA understands that Harvard continues to engage in race discrimination, including in its admissions process and in other areas of student life. The statistical evidence of Harvard's racial discrimination in their admissions - as revealed in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard - is shocking, to say the least. For applicants in the top academic decile, admissions rates varied significantly by race. In this decile, admissions rates were: 56% for African Americans; 31% for Hispanics; 15% for Whites; 13% for Asians. The Supreme Court, in its decision on the case, rebuked Harvard's long-standing policy and practice of discriminating on the basis of race. Harvard has shown no indication of reforming their admissions process - to the contrary, Harvard now has to offer a remedial math course, which has been described as “middle school math”, for incoming freshmen. These are the direct results of employing discriminatory factors, instead of merit, in admission decisions. Since then, troubling revelations have come to light regarding Harvard and its affiliates' potential discriminatory hiring practices and possible violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Harvard is suspected of engaging in a pattern or practice of disparate treatment in hiring, promotion, compensation, and other personnel related actions. Additionally, discriminatory practices have been exposed at the Harvard Law Review, where internal documents that have been made public detail the pervasive and explicit racial discrimination in the publication's article selection and editor appointment process. GSA is also aware of recent events at Harvard University involving anti-Semitic action that suggest the institution has a disturbing lack of concern for the safety and wellbeing of Jewish students. Harvard's ongoing inaction in the face of repeated and severe harassment and targeting of its students has at times grounded day-to-day campus operations to a halt, deprived Jewish students of learning and research opportunities to which they are entitled, and profoundly alarmed the general public.
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[1] Url:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/05/27/us/harvard-contractsletterfinaldocx.html
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