Stand with Harvard Students in Funding Freeze

Everyone has a different answer to the question of who should support students in times of crisis: some say the university, others point to the government, and still others look to private industry. Regardless of who you think it should be, the reality for Harvard PhD students right now is that none of these entities are.

Government support (e.g., research grants, T32 training grants) has been cancelled. University funding streams (e.g., conference travel grants, faculty discretionary funds) are temporarily frozen, except for essential expenses. Private organizations, including scientific societies, are not stepping up to provide fee waivers or other stop-gap measures.

I recognize that depending on where you fall on the political spectrum, you may view the ongoing Harvard vs. Trump standoff as a long-term loss or a long-term corrective. (I'd strongly encourage you to view it as the former.) Regardless, both sides seem to recognize that current Harvard students and trainees are the short-term casualties.

In response, we are soliciting donations to support students affected by the sudden and severe loss of funding. Every dollar raised will go directly to students with qualifying educational expenses. Qualifying expenses include any sudden and/or unexpected expenses that is a direct or indirect result of the Harvard vs. Trump battle. In other words, things that students would not typically pay for out-of-pocket, and thus did not budget for, but are suddenly incurring. Some examples include conferences registration fees, legal fees, and application fees for those opting to transfer or reapply to non-Harvard PhD programs.

I’ll write a follow-up post detailing exactly how the funds are spent, so you’ll know who you helped and why it mattered.

Any funds raised beyond immediate needs will be donated to the Harvard Graduate Student Union-United Auto Workers (parent union) (HGSU-UAW), which manages an existing (albeit dwindling) student emergency fund.

For those less familiar with the situation at Harvard, here’s what you need to know:

• The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (“Chan”) was classified as an R1 research institution, a designation reserved for universities with the highest level of research activity, doctoral degrees, and infrastructure. If this feels abstract, think of R1 status like NCAA Division I status in college athletics. Your favorite D1 football team has D1 status because they have more resources (facilities, athletic scholarships, etc.) than Division II teams (which award less scholarships) and Division III teams (which award zero scholarships). The same principal applies to R1 status: more resources = more recruits = more research output.

• The revenue to support its R1 status has been lost. At Chan, 59% of the operating budget depends on external support from federal and private grants (mostly federal). While the broader Harvard University ecosystem has deep pockets, only 4% of the university’s endowment is allocated to the school of public health, and just 5% of that is disbursed annually, most of which has restrictions on how it can be spent. This makes Chan a “soft money” school that relies heavy on grants year-to-year to sustain itself. You can learn more about Chan’s financial status in this short video .

• Due to funding loss, Chan is now transitioning away from its R1 emphasis. In a recent Town Hall, Dean Andrea Baccarelli announced that the school would pivot its mission from research to education. The focus moving forward will be on sustaining the institution as a degree-granting entity rather than as a research powerhouse. This will ensure the school’s financial viability (i.e., keep it from going bankrupt). During this transition period while the school is re-evaluating its operating budget, it has formally and informally frozen funding sources, like faculty’s discretionary funds – which are the pots of money that advisors typically use to support student expenses like conferences.

Hopefully these bullets help put into context why Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and its students, are hit so hard. Please consider donating or amplifying this page to support students.

If you’d like to learn more about the unfolding situation or how you can help, feel free to reach out. We're happy to share more information and write follow-up posts.