House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik on Friday rejected comments made by a Harvard University professor who suggested that Ivy League schools should not cooperate with congressional investigations, doubling down on lawmakers’ power to probe institutions that are “funded by billions of taxpayer dollars.” tax.”
The House Education and Workforce Committee has launched an investigation into allegations of rampant antisemitism on the Harvard campus and academic dishonesty on the part of the school’s president, Claudine Gay.
Harvard Law Professor Randall Kennedy told the New York Times on Friday that his support for Gay “has not wavered” despite dozens of examples of alleged plagiarism by Gay uncovered by The Post — including parts of his 1997 Ph.D. thesis.
Kennedy, 69, also suggested that Harvard’s leadership could refuse to cooperate with a congressional inquiry if it found lawmakers’ inquiries to be “a malicious effort to harass, embarrass and intimidate.”
Stefanik, 39, told The Post that Kennedy’s argument was inappropriate given the “billions of taxpayer dollars” that fund the elite school.
“It is not up to Harvard professors or their boards to decide where the attention of Congress should be focused or whether to follow the LAW or not,” the New York Republican said in a statement. “Congress and the Committee on Education and the Workforce have clear legal authority to investigate Harvard’s conduct regarding its handling of antisemitism on campus and how the University handles discipline of its students and faculty for plagiarism and other violations of the university Code.
“Harvard is funded with billions of taxpayer dollars. The funding is a privilege and not a right, and Congress has the prerogative to investigate Harvard and its senior officials as to whether it deserves the support, fulfills its obligations under federal civil rights law, and conducts itself in a manner consistent with its accreditation. ,” he continued.
“I strongly support the Chairman [Virginia] Foxx’s investigation and it is required by law that Harvard University will cooperate fully and I call on them to immediately make clear that they will do so.”
Stefanik noted Friday that Harvard received “billions of dollars” in taxpayer money. Getty Images Congress is investigating antisemitism on the Harvard campus and allegations of plagiarism against President Claudine Gay. David McGlynn
By Harvard’s own admission, the school received about $1.94 billion in federal funding over the past three years – $625 million in 2021, $642 million in 2022 and $676 million in 2023 – according to the institution’s three most recent public financial reports.
House Education and Workforce Committee said in a tweet Friday that it has a “constitutional duty to ensure that institutions of higher education obey the law and do not use the billions of taxpayer dollars they receive to create nests of hate.”
The committee warned that Kennedy’s comments to the New York Times were tantamount to suggesting that Harvard should block a congressional panel’s investigation, a move that could result in “criminal referrals.”
“Harvard would make a grave mistake by turning its back on accountability at the advice of Randall Kennedy or anyone else,” the committee’s tweet stated. “Harvard’s leadership must understand that obstruction of congressional investigations can result in contempt of Congressional proceedings and even criminal referrals.”
The antisemitism investigation into Harvard was launched after Gay was brought before the committee on December 5 to testify about the treatment of Jewish students on Harvard’s campus, where he was pressed by Stefanik on whether calling for the genocide of Jews violated the university’s code of conduct regarding bullying and disturbance.
Gay said the allowance for the speech depends on “context,” declining to give a yes or no answer and adding that the words are only actionable if they rise to the level of bullying, harassment and intimidation.
Gay, on Dec. 5, would not say whether calling for the genocide of Jews violates the university’s code of conduct. David McGlynn
House Republicans are also investigating the school’s handling of “credible allegations of plagiarism” against Gay and the university’s efforts to block inquiries from The Post about his scholarship.
House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Foxx (R-NC) wrote a letter Wednesday to Harvard Corporation senior fellow Penny Pritzker demanding internal documents and communications about the scandal.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
