Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chair of Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, stated that Alan Garber, president of Harvard University, declined to appear at an upcoming Senate hearing focusing on “issues in higher education.”
“I invited Harvard to testify. It is my firm belief that every person and institution should have the right to make their case,” said the senator. “There appears to have been tolerance of antisemitism on Harvard’s campus. This would have been the chance for Harvard to emphasize its value as a research institution and to tell the committee and the country how it is addressing antisemitism.”
Scheduled witnesses for the Wednesday hearing include other two university presidents: Michael Lindsay at Taylor University, a private Christian school in Indiana; and Mark Brown at Tuskegee University, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Alabama.
“Rarely are HBCUs or religiously oriented universities mentioned in conversations about how to improve America’s higher education system,” added Cassidy. “This needs to change because they have their own valuable stories to tell.”
The federal Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism announced last week that it was canceling an additional $450 million in grants to Harvard University, beyond the $2.2 billion it froze in April.
