BY DAVE PRICE
Daily Post Editor
Stanford is preparing for a withering storm. Consider the following events:
• Early January — Stanford removes all references to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs from its website, according to the Stanford Daily.
• Jan. 23 — President Jonathan Levin told the Faculty Senate that all programs falling under the DEI heading will be reviewed “and it’s likely that some will need to be modified or sunsetted.”
• Feb. 23 — Stanford decides not to exercise an option to buy Notre Dame de Namur University’s campus in Belmont. “The landscape for research universities has changed considerably since Stanford entered into the option purchase agreement with NDNU. These changes are resulting in greater uncertainties and a different set of institutional and financial challenges for Stanford,” Stanford said in a statement.
• Feb. 27 — Stanford freezes hiring in anticipation of funding cuts by the federal government. Stanford gives two reasons for the freeze: 1. The National Institutes of Health is trying to dramatically reduce payments to universities for indirect costs associated with research. 2. Congress is looking at raising the tax on university endowments. Stanford’s $43 billion endowment produces a large amount of the income the university uses for day-to-day expenses like salaries.
• March 10 — The Trump administration’s Department of Education notifies Stanford and 59 other colleges and universities that they are under investigation for antisemitic harassment and discrimination.
In Stanford’s case, the investigators could well start their work by reviewing a report by Stanford’s Subcommittee on Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias released June 20, 2024. The report said “antisemitism exists today on the Stanford campus in ways that are widespread and pernicious.” Swastikas have been drawn on Jewish students’ doors. Mezuzas, the symbol of a Jewish home, have repeatedly been torn from door frames. And Jewish students have heard “Go Back to Brooklyn” screamed at them.
Certainly, pro-Palestinian students have been targeted on campus as well. But the Trump administration is focused on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — and that might result in a hit to Stanford’s treasury.
So far, the highest profile target of Trump in this area was his announcement that is he cutting $400 million in federal funds to Columbia University in New York City. He’s upset at how the Ivy League university handled pro-Palestinian student protests last spring and summer.
On Thursday, the Trump administration rescinded $800 million in federal funding for Johns Hopkins University. The Baltimore-based university said it would eliminate 2,000 jobs, and the local economy will take a big hit.
However, the $800 million was to have come from the U.S. Agency for International Development, not because of an investigation into antisemitism or DEI. And while Stanford is being investigated for antisemitism, the university has not been named in a separate investigation into DEI programs.
The cut off in federal funds to universities has resulted in a chill across higher education. Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and Notre Dame University in Indiana have abruptly stopped hiring faculty. I get the feeling this is a developing storm, and it’s likely to get much stronger in the months ahead.
Editor Dave Price’s column appears on Mondays.
Good! Stanford has shut out students for unapproved pronouns and cast off international students—treating them with suspicion even while these undergrad and graduate students are moneymakers and do not get campus housing. I have seen enough of the hand-wringing, especially at the Bechtel Center.
Sounds like Stanford hired a good president for a change. Now if he can just get the football team to reach respectability he’ll be a total success.
Stanford ought to consider foregoing all federal funds so that they don’t have to bend to the whims of whatever administration is in power, democrat or republican. Weening itself off this money will be hard, but they’ll be better off in the long run.