Harvard holds commencement amid Trump funding cuts, threats to international students

Harvard University defies Trump administration, faces funding cuts, and legal battles while standing up for academic freedom.

Harvard University is holding its commencement Thursday (May 29, 2025) at a pivotal moment, when its place as one of the world's leading higher education institutions is under what increasingly seems like existential threats from the Trump administration.

Other schools face the loss of federal funding and their ability to enrol international students if they don't agree to the Trump administration's shifting demands.

But Harvard, which was founded in 1636, a century and a half before the nation itself, is taking the lead on defying the White House in federal court — and paying a significant price.

The Trump administration's latest salvos include asking federal agencies to cancel about $100 million in contracts with the Ivy League school. The government already cancelled more than $2.6 billion in federal research grants, moved to cut off Harvard's enrolment of international students and threatened its tax-exempt status.

Visa interviews for international students admitted to schools nationwide were halted on Tuesday, and Mr. Trump said on Wednesday that Harvard should reduce its international enrolment from 25% to about 15%.

Sustained by a $53 billion endowment, the nation's oldest and wealthiest university is testing whether it can be a bulwark against Trump's efforts to limit what it calls antisemitic activism on campus, which Harvard sees as an affront to the freedom to teach and learn nationwide.

The Trump administration has demanded Harvard enact broad government and leadership reforms and changes to its admissions policies. It also demanded the university audit views of diversity on campus and stop recognising some student clubs.