Donor pressure on US private universities amid Israel-Hamas conflict

American private universities find themselves navigating a challenging path, torn between appeasing influential donors demanding stronger support for Israel and respecting the rights of protesters to freely express their opinions.

Several affluent Americans have threatened to withdraw their financial support from prestigious institutions such as Harvard University, part of the Ivy League, and the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn). Notably, the Wexner Foundation, dedicated to fostering young Jewish leaders in North America and Israel, took an unprecedented step by ending its partnership with Harvard’s Kennedy School.

The Wexner family, renowned for founding Bath & Body Works, cited Harvard’s perceived failure to take a clear stance against the violence targeting innocent Israeli civilians by terrorists as their reason for formally severing ties.

Meanwhile, Marc Rowan, CEO of the Apollo Global Management investment fund and a significant UPenn donor, called for the resignation of UPenn’s president, Elizabeth Magill. Rowan specifically criticized the university for hosting a festival of Palestinian literature, which he claimed included individuals with anti-Semitic and divisive views.

Other influential donors like Kenneth Griffin, CEO of the Citadel investment fund and a prominent Harvard benefactor, and Ronald Lauder, heir to the Estee Lauder cosmetics group and another UPenn supporter, have also expressed their dissatisfaction, as reported by American media.

University leaders are increasingly under pressure to make rapid and decisive statements, being pushed to choose sides in a complex global issue. However, many argue that given the diverse perspectives on campuses, it is challenging to adopt an institutional position on such matters, as highlighted by Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU).

Harvard’s President, Claudine Gay, did denounce the Hamas attacks, but her critics found her response timid and belated. Leaders at Stanford University in California and Columbia University in New York have faced similar demands to distance themselves from pro-Palestinian student groups accusing Israel of “genocide.”

Nevertheless, a group of Harvard professors has called for an end to online harassment of students who supposedly endorsed an incendiary letter against Israel. An incident involving a vehicle displaying names and photos under the title “Harvard’s leading anti-Semites” near the campus further underscores the tensions.

Similar situations have unfolded at Columbia University, with some students feeling apprehensive about speaking out or protesting, as fear permeates the campus environment, according to Kristen Shahverdian, who works on education issues at PEN America, an organization promoting literature and free expression.

In the United States, the principle of freedom of expression is staunchly upheld, with university leaders often referring to the 1967 Kalven Committee report, which emphasizes the role of universities in promoting diverse opinions rather than taking firm stands on contentious matters.

The pressure from donors raises concerns about the integrity of American higher education, whose primary purpose is to encourage the pursuit of truth and the free exchange of ideas, as noted by Pasquerella. Shahverdian also emphasizes that donors should recognize that freedom of expression is a fundamental component of higher education, even when it involves speech strongly disagreed with.

Furthermore, this pressure on universities is seen against the backdrop of declining public investment in higher education, leading institutions to rely more heavily on private donors and causing professors and administrators to feel coerced due to the fear of losing financial support.

Harvard, for instance, which boasts a substantial endowment of nearly $51 billion, derives around 8 percent of its operating revenue from gifts.

These challenges occur in a climate of increasing polarization in American society, marked by deep political divisions. A recent Gallup poll revealed that confidence in higher education has waned, with the percentage of Americans expressing strong confidence in these institutions dropping from 57 percent in 2015 to 36 percent this year.