Stuart Zimmer, a Jewish billionaire investor, agreed in June to resume funding a $100 million gift to Harvard University that he had paused after Oct. 7, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
Zimmer and his wife, Jennifer Zimmer, pledged the gift in 2018. But after the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Zimmer, 57, became “appalled” by Harvard’s response to the attacks and “troubled” by what he viewed as the ensuing rise in antisemitism on campus, according to the outlet.
He also expressed concern about the rise of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and reports of a decline in the number of Jewish undergraduates at Harvard. One of his daughters was a Harvard student at the time, the newspaper reported.
Harvard President Alan Garber, who is Jewish, had been “courting” Zimmer for about two years when the two met during Harvard’s reunion festivities in June, the Journal reported. The meeting led to an agreement for Zimmer to resume funding the gift.
As part of the arrangement, Harvard announced that its Science Center would be renamed Zimmer Hall in honor of Zimmer’s late father, Alan Zimmer, a neuroradiologist whose work helped advance the development and use of computer axial tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in the United States. The gift will also expand kosher dining options on campus, including at Eliot House after its renovation.
Zimmer also received assurances that Harvard would continue recruiting at Jewish day schools “to the extent it could in the post-affirmative action legal landscape,” the Journal reported.
Garber and Harvard Provost John Manning, who is also Jewish, are “both beautiful human beings who have worked hard to improve the safety of and protect the civil rights of Jewish students at Harvard,” Zimmer stated.
Zimmer graduated from Harvard College in 1991 and remained closely connected to the university. His two oldest children attended Harvard and were active in Harvard Chabad, and the couple hosted several Chabad fundraisers at one of their homes in Florida.
Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi, president of Harvard Chabad, told the Journal that Zimmer was particularly disturbed after Oct. 7 by then-Harvard President Claudine Gay’s response to the attacks and by chants at pro-Palestinian demonstrations, including “globalize the intifada.”
Zimmer “had a hard time thinking Harvard would tolerate similar speech toward other groups of people,” Zarchi stated.
The newspaper cited a spring report by the Harvard Jewish Alumni Alliance that estimated Jews made up more than 20% of Harvard undergraduates in the 1990s but about 7% today. Harvard has disputed the report’s conclusions, stating that it does not track students by religious affiliation.
Harvard’s effort to win Zimmer back was part of a broader push to repair relations with major donors who pulled back their support after Oct. 7, according to the Journal. University leaders reportedly held calls with donors including Lloyd Blankfein, John Paulson, Michael Bloomberg and Seth Klarman. Some donors, including investor Bill Ackman, have continued to withhold support.
Garber announced Zimmer’s renewed gift to his Harvard class during the June reunion festivities, saying the money would “help make Jewish students feel at home on campus.” According to several people in attendance, the announcement was met with “lengthy applause.”
