The John Harvard Fellowship

TO: Harvard Overseers and Harvard Corporation 

FROM: Harvard Christian Alumni and Christian friends of Harvard 

April 25, 2024 

As Christians, we the undersigned hold that all human beings bear the image of God and are of inestimable  value. Therefore, we grieve for the 1,200 people who were murdered in the October 7, 2023 Hamas terror  attacks in Israel, as well as the 250 who were taken hostage, and for all who have suffered in the wake of  those attacks. 

The atrocities of October 7 also deeply affected the lives of Jewish students at Harvard who were targeted  by supporters of Hamas for harassment and even violence. The failure of those leading the university at  that time to provide a robust response created great challenges and also an opportunity for deep reflection  and course correction. As loyal alumni and friends of the university, we stand in solidarity with Harvard’s  Jewish community, and we sincerely desire to see our alma mater live up to the calling of its motto,  Veritas. Therefore, we urge the university to: 

1) Add concerned alumni to the Presidential Task Forces on Combating Anti-Semitism.

2) Improve viewpoint diversity by rooting out all discrimination against Christians, Jews and other  people of faith in hiring faculty. 

3) Restore an environment in which Jews, Christians, Muslims, and, indeed, all members of the  Harvard community are welcome to engage in truth-seeking (including moral truth-seeking) and  robust debate without fear or favor.  

Harvard’s founding mottos were, In Christi Gloriam (for the Glory of Christ) and later, Veritas, Christo et  Ecclesiae (Truth for Christ and the Church). Later, to make clear that the University welcomed people of  other faiths, and not only Christians, the popular motto was shortened to simply Veritas. We hope that  Harvard has not changed, and will never change, its commitment to the principle, rooted in the biblical  understanding of man as made in the image and likeness of God, that every member of the human family,  without distinction, is the bearer of profound, inherent, and equal dignity.  

Those who share the Christian faith of the undersigned look unceasingly to Christ, who is veritas, who  offers forgiveness and redemption. Although frail and fallen, we strive to love, as Christ loves, and to  bring healing, as Christ brings healing, to this broken and suffering world. This effort to share in God’s  work of redemption links us, we believe, to Harvard’s Christian founders. 

At the same time, we enthusiastically, gratefully, and joyfully join with our brothers and sisters of other  faiths, at Harvard and beyond her walls, to honor the image of God in all men and women, especially the  weak, the vulnerable, the despised. In working together, across the lines of theological division, we believe  that our university and our world can be reformed and renewed. 

Although we were disappointed by the University leadership’s response to October 7th and to the targeting  of Jewish students by anti-Semitic elements on campus, we are not asking Harvard to take sides on issues  in dispute between the Israeli government and the Palestinian leadership. We do not expect, or want, Harvard University to have a foreign policy. But we do expect and want Jewish students, Muslim students,  Christian students, and indeed all students to be able freely to advocate for what they believe in without  fear of harassment or violence. And we do want Harvard to root out the discrimination in hiring that  prevents the University from having anything remotely approaching the measure of viewpoint diversity in  matters of religion and politics that a great university in a pluralistic democratic society should have. 

As the university charts a path forward, its leaders should work to restore an environment of intellectual  freedom where faculty and students can seek the truth without fearing marginalization, ostracism, and  punishment from the university. Harvard should be a place where students grow in understanding by  reading and hearing a wide range of opinions and by subjecting their own ideas to rigorous scrutiny.  

The university serves students by giving them the tools to be truth seekers themselves. This requires a  commitment to humble and charitable debate, and robust curiosity and inquiry. And Harvard’s leaders can  model truth-seeking by engaging in fruitful collegial discussion and disagreement with people of other  views, and speaking the truth even when it is unpopular (which is often when it matters most).  

Harvard’s lack of viewpoint diversity is well-documented. Former Harvard president Derek Bok wrote  that conservative thought is now “nearly absent” due to the predominance of Left-leaning professors who  often outnumber conservatives by 10 to one—or more. For decades, people who deny, doubt, and or  challenge secular liberal orthodoxy have been marginalized and excluded from discussions. Students and  faculty alike report that at Harvard, opinions must align with the dominant ideas about politics, religion,  and morality to be welcome. We are concerned about the mistreatment of people like Dr. Carole Hooven and Professor Tyler VanderWeele who faced condemnation and marginalization at Harvard for expressing  views that did not align with dominant opinion. And Harvard’s last place ranking out of 248 universities  on the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) free speech index attests to a culture that  stifles expression.  

To have a robust campus culture where students can participate in the search for what is true, good, and  beautiful, Harvard will need to welcome a wider range of perspectives. Unfortunately, as former Harvard  Medical School Dean Jeffrey Flier writes, some students are subjected to double standards based on  whether their beliefs conform to the university’s politics. All students should be treated equally, but some  are stigmatized by programs that deem them “privileged.” Jews have been persecuted throughout world  history—including, shamefully, by some who have claimed to follow the Jewish rabbi that we as  Christians believe is the Son of God. Now, they face a surge of violent attacks against them on American  soil, including on college campuses. Nevertheless, they are deemed “privileged.”  

Environments where open debate and inquiry are repressed lead to ignorance, prejudice, and abuse of the  vulnerable. Anti-Semitism is but one manifestation; any group of students can be targeted for  mistreatment. As Harvard searches for a new president, the university needs not just one, but many new  leaders who believe it is their duty to foster intellectual and moral inquiry and who are unafraid to face up  to the problem of a severe lack of viewpoint diversity. 

In a recent speech at Princeton University, author Abigail Shrier counted the high costs of losing freedom  and named the courage that is required to reclaim it. We commend this speech to you as you consider the qualifications of Harvard’s new leaders and the concrete steps that must be taken to return Harvard to the  purpose for which it was founded — seeking veritas.  

Sincerely,  

Harvard Christian Alumni and Christian friends of Harvard 

Co-authors: * Names are for identification purposes only. 

Robert P. George, MTS 1981; JD, HLS 1981 

McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University 

Emilie Kao, AB 1996; JD, HLS 1999 

Kelly Monroe Kullberg 

Frmr. chaplain to graduate students, Harvard-Radcliffe United Ministries 1991-2000 Founder, the Veritas Forum; Editor/co-author, Finding God at Harvard 

Arseny James Melnick, HGSAS 1977 

Early signatories, including – 

Dorian Abbot, HC BA 2004, PhD 2008 

Josh Abottoy, HLS 2015 

Doreen Torgerson Denny, HKS MPP 1989 

Lawrence Franko, A.B, 1963; D.B.A. 1970 

James Hankins, Harvard Professor 

Christopher C. Hull, Ph.D., HC 1992 

Ben Lima, HC 1998 

Habib Malik, HGSAS, Ph.D. in History 1985 

Carl Neuss, HBS MBA 1985 

Charles Oellerman, HLS 1991 

Gene Pierce, HC 1976

Carrie Sheffield, HKS MPP 2010 

Carol Swain, Ph.D., retired Professor of Political Science, and Law, Vanderbilt

John D. Wylie, M.D., Ph.D.; Visiting Fellow HGSAS 2004 

New signatories, including – 

Brenda Baller, Friend of JHF

Ben Baumann, HC 2000

Gabrielle Cusson

Rebecca Faubion, GSE, EdM Arts in Education, 2006

Jeff Feldhahn, HLS 1993

Jordan Gandhi, HC 2012

Gwen Griffith, Friend of JHF

Joel Guerra, HGSE 2014

Paul Gunderson, Em. Surgeon, MEEI/MGH

Allan Haberman, Ph.D 1973

Laurie Hansel, friend of Veritas & JHF

Omar Haque, Harvard Medical School

Gerald Henry, AMP, Friend of JHF

Charles Hokanson, JD, 1998; MPP, 1998; HKS Alumni Association Board Member (2022-2024)

Lee Holcombe, Ed.D, HGSE 2002

Amy Honaker, Harvard Extension School

George Sim Johnston, B.A. 1973

Edward Kao, GSAS, PhD 2017

Caleb King, HMS 1988/1993

John Lee, Friend of JHF

Martha Linder, Friend of JHF

Patrick McCloskey, Friend of JHF

Faith McDonnell, Friend of JHF

Aubrey Metcalf, friend of JHF

Scott Morgan, friend of JHF

Raleigh Newsam HKS, Belfer Center Cybersecurity

Allen Pickett, Friend of JHF

Ryan Schwarz, JD 1995, MBA 1995

David Seel, Friend of JHF; sister on faculty at med school

Carrie Severino, HLS 2004

Roger Severino, HLS 2002

Brandon Sharp, HLS Alumnus

Alan Shore, Friend of JHF

Scott Spages, Friend of JHF

Esther Thompson, Friend of JHF

Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse, HLS 2014

David Williams, Friend of JHF

Jamie Zwiebel, HSPH, MS 2011

Comment by Dr. Habib Malik, PhD in History, 1985

I love Harvard, and for this reason I have been deeply dismayed at the turn the University took under the former President, Claudine Gay. We must stand up forcefully against antisemitism and against the alliance on our campuses of the global left with the global jihad. This pervasive rot constitutes a betrayal of the deepest in our Judeo-Christian heritage and cannot be allowed to continue. For this reason, I am adding my name to those signing the letter.

Comment by Professor Robert P. George, MTS 1981; JD, HLS 1981 

It is the duty of Christians on our nation’s campuses—and beyond—not only to refrain from participating in campaigns of harassment and bullying, but also to stand up for anyone, of any faith, who is being harassed or bullied. Our Christ-inspired commitment to the profound, inherent, and equal dignity of every member of the human family entails nothing less. Today, the ancient evil of anti-Jewish animus—anti-Semitism—has reappeared in our public life. Frighteningly, it seems to be growing, especially among young people. We must not stand idly by. We must make our voices heard, calling out this vile bigotry for the sin it is, and standing in solidarity with our Jewish neighbors.

– Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University