Can Trump Force Harvard to Improve?
Probably not. But the president’s supporters hope the example will cause leaders of other universities to get serious about reform. (excerpt from the Wall Street Journal
Three outcomes are possible in Donald Trump’s war with Harvard: Scenario one is that the nation’s top private universities remain delusional about the dozen reasons a large and growing share of the public distrusts them. The “plan” is to avoid institutional course-correction and seek protection from the courts and ultimate rescue from the Democratic Party in 2029 or after.
Scenario two is that Mr. Trump and other populist-inspired politicians force change from without by intervening more consistently and even more forcefully in the internal operations of these schools.
Scenario three is that substantive reform comes from within these schools, or at least some of them. That would require their leaders to listen humbly to a broad range of legitimate criticisms—about the cowering before vandals and antisemites, about endless celebration of regressive identity politics, about administrative bloat and indefensible tuition hikes, and about the corruption of teaching and research—the nearly 4.0 average grades across the humanities, tenure rates of 80% and 90%, and a replication crisis in many fields. After deliberation and introspection, boards and presidents would need to announce publicly a reform agenda with precise goals and a specific timetable.
Many Americans have a rooting interest in the conflict between Harvard and Mr. Trump.