The GSA’s letter accused the school of engaging in discriminatory admissions practices even after the US Supreme Court, in its 2023 decision ending affirmative action in higher education, rejected Harvard’s use of race as an admissions factor to boost campus diversity.
The letter from Josh Gruenbaum, commissioner of the GSA’s federal acquisition service, also accused Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Harvard of discriminatory hiring practices and of failing to protect Jewish students from harassment.
The GSA sent the letter to federal agencies on Tuesday morning, said an administration official familiar with the matter. The letter directs agencies to submit a list of contract cancellations by Jun 6 and says contracts for critical services will be transitioned to other vendors.
Harvard, which is suing to challenge the administration’s actions, has argued that its rush to punish the school has run afoul of various procedures and violates free speech rights under the US Constitution’s First Amendment by trying to assert control over its staff, curriculum and enrollment.
Harvard University President Alan Garber said, in an NPR interview released on Tuesday, that despite campus problems that it needs to address, the administration’s decisions to cancel grant funding were “perplexing”.
“As long as there has been a United States of America, Harvard has thought that its role is to serve the nation,” he said.
