Harvard's response to Trump shows resistance, not leadership

When Harvard University refused to comply with federal demands to overhaul its admissions, hiring, curriculum and diversity policies, the Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts while threatening to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status and its ability to process visas for international students. The demands were framed as a campaign to combat antisemitism, elitism, and ideological orthodoxy. Harvard’s president, Alan Garber, forcefully and openly rejected the administration’s moves as unlawful, politically motivated, and corrosive to academic freedom.

For many, Harvard’s defiance — which now includes a lawsuit against the administration — was a necessary stand. But while its resistance is admirable for its clarity and courage, it is not leadership. Saying "no" is not the same as saying "here is what can come next."

Leadership would require Harvard to engage the public — not merely to defend its institutional autonomy, but to articulate its values in a way that resonates beyond the gates of Harvard Yard. It would mean recognizing that many Americans, including those who help fund its tax-exempt status and federal research grants, see the university as increasingly out of step with the nation it inhabits. Resistance may rest on constitutional principle, but true leadership must also be grounded in public trust. And that trust, for many, has eroded.

As an alum and former faculty member, I will not deny Harvard’s ideological skew. Faculty political donations overwhelmingly tilt left. Viewpoint diversity is more aspiration than reality. The university has applied one standard to protests aligned with progressive causes, another to protests from the right. In the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, Harvard struggled — publicly and internally — to clearly condemn terrorist violence and distinguish between criticism of Israel and glorification of brutality. Its version of equity features race and identity far more than class or economic hardship. And while transparency is routinely championed as a democratic virtue, Harvard’s own governance and admissions processes remain notably opaque.

These contradictions are not, in themselves, fatal. Elite institutions have always diverged, to some degree, from mainstream American life. But at a certain point, the gap becomes untenable. A university cannot claim to champion democratic ideals while appearing unwilling to share the stage with half the demos.

This is where leadership matters. Harvard has an opportunity to do more than resist. It can lead — by convening a long-overdue national conversation on campus antisemitism or the boundaries of protest. It can publicly propose alternatives to the administration’s blunt demands: policies that safeguard student safety and preserve expressive rights, that address bias without state coercion. It not only can confront its institutional shortcomings but really examine why and how its systems enable selective tolerance of some forms of hate speech but not others. Resistance often revels in its moral clarity. Leadership demands moral responsibility.

Both sides in this conflict can be wrong. The Trump administration’s demands are overreaching, and in some cases constitutionally dubious. But Harvard’s failure to respond meaningfully to real concerns made it vulnerable. Leadership means facing that reality.

Resistance has its place. It sparks attention. It draws lines. But it is inherently tied to the moment. Leadership, by contrast, is durable. It builds something lasting. It outlives its antagonists. Harvard’s refusal to capitulate may be remembered as an act of courage. But it can be something more — a turning point, and not just for one university, but for a higher education sector increasingly caught between its self-image and the public’s perception. Resistance revels in moral clarity. Leadership demands moral responsibility.

This guest essay reflects the views of Todd L. Pittinsky, professor of technology and society at Stony Brook University.