ACF Monitoring Harvard Kennedy School’s Decision to Honor Nicholas Kristof

ACF Monitoring Harvard Kennedy School’s Decision to Honor Nicholas Kristof

Alums for Campus Fairness (ACF) is monitoring the Harvard Kennedy School’s (HKS) decision to proceed with bestowing New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof the Malcolm H. Wiener Lecture, despite concerns raised by the Harvard Jewish Alumni Alliance (HJAA).

HKS Dean Jeremy Weinstein rejected HJAA’s request to withdraw the honor, arguing that doing so would undermine the school’s commitment to free speech and its practice of hosting speakers with a wide range of views. Dean Weinstein also stated that inviting someone to deliver an endowed lecture does not imply institutional agreement with that person’s views.

HJAA has emphasized that it does not dispute Kristof’s right to speak. Rather, the group argues that an endowed lecture is an institutional honor and that awarding it involves a separate exercise of institutional judgment. HJAA also asked HKS to publish its criteria for selecting Wiener honorees and meet with the group before the lecture. According to The Harvard Crimson, Dean Weinstein did not grant those requests.

The dispute centers in part on a May 11 Kristof op-ed concerning allegations of sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees. The New York Times said it reviewed challenges to the column and found no errors, while HJAA has raised concerns about Kristof’s reporting and cited previous controversies involving his work.

HJAA has said it would accept Kristof speaking in another format that allows students and experts to question and challenge him directly, while objecting to the event being presented as an institutional honor. Kristof is scheduled to deliver the Malcolm H. Wiener Lecture on Friday, September 18.

About ACF: Alums for Campus Fairness (ACF) leverages the unique power of alumni to combat antisemitism on college campuses. ACF helps organize and cultivate alumni chapters for colleges and universities across the country, equipping members with tools, tactics, and training to proactively engage with administrators. Learn more at www.campusfairness.org.