South Michigan News

Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg, along with several other Republican representatives, has sent a letter to Alan Garber, President of Harvard University. The letter requests information regarding potential discriminatory hiring and employment practices at the institution that may violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The letter from the committee members states: "Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) prohibits employment discrimination because of an individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The Committee is concerned about recent reports that Harvard University (Harvard) may be discriminating in hiring and employment on these bases… Numerous publicly available documents produced or published by Harvard suggest that Harvard may have been and may still be unlawfully discriminating with respect to its hiring and employment practices."

Further details in the letter highlight concerns over interview processes at Harvard since 2021. It notes that "Harvard seems to have provided to those who were interviewing job candidates 'Diversity-Related Sample Interview Questions' to 'assist in assessing a candidate's understanding and commitment to diversity, inclusion, and belonging.' One of the sample questions states, 'Explain how diversity played a role in your career.'"

Additionally, the letter refers to actions taken by Andrea R. Lucas, Acting Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). On April 25, 2025, Lucas filed a commissioner’s charge with EEOC alleging potential violations by Harvard under Title VII. This charge mentions public documents from Harvard discussing changes in faculty demographics and points out programs that might discriminate.

Read the full letter here.