Harvard University is making headlines for all the wrong reasons this week. In what alumni are calling a “public capitulation,” Harvard College has shut down three of its key student offices—the Women’s Center, the Office for BGLTQ Student Life, and the Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations.
This sweeping rollback follows mounting pressure from the Trump administration, which has explicitly targeted diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts across American institutions. The now-defunct websites for these centers have been quietly redirected to a new Office of Culture and Community—a page that avoids any mention of marginalized groups or the word “diversity” altogether.
The Crimson reports that the restructuring was announced internally, and a new Office for Academic Culture and Community will replace the former diversity office in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. This is not Harvard’s first retreat. In April, the university renamed its campus-wide Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging to Community and Campus Life.”These moves come as the Trump administration continues to threaten Harvard’s federal funding and accreditation.
On Wednesday, the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services issued a statement declaring Harvard in violation of federal antidiscrimination laws. The university is scheduled to meet government lawyers in court on July 21, fighting for the release of frozen research funds.
Meanwhile, a judge has paused Trump’s attempt to block Harvard from enrolling international students, who represent nearly a quarter of its student body. Whether Harvard’s new offices will preserve the spirit of the shuttered ones remains uncertain. But for now, LGBTQ and minority students have been left with empty pages—and growing concern.
