HHS Refers Harvard to Suspension and Debarment

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights has formally referred Harvard University to HHS’s suspension and debarment process under Title VI, a move that could bar the university from federal grants and contracts. OCR found Harvard showed “deliberate indifference” to antisemitic harassment of Jewish and Israeli students since Oct. 7, 2023, and notified the university it has 20 days to request a formal administrative hearing. If imposed, a suspension would temporarily cut off federal support and a debarment could block funding for years, putting billions in research funding at risk from HHS and other agencies including the Defense Department and the National Science Foundation. The referral follows earlier freezes of multibillion-dollar grants that a federal judge found were improperly imposed and ordered restored, and it escalates the administration’s use of funding levers to enforce campus compliance. HHS OCR director Paula Stannard said the referral protects taxpayer investments, while Harvard disputes the findings and says it has taken steps to address campus antisemitism amid ongoing legal battles.