SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:
Lawyers for Harvard University and the Trump administration will be in court in Boston tomorrow over federal funding. Harvard is arguing that the government's freeze of more than $2 billion in grants and contracts is illegal and should be reversed. NPR education correspondent Elissa Nadworny is with us to explain what's at stake. Hi, Elissa.
ELISSA NADWORNY, BYLINE: Hello.
PFEIFFER: So Harvard brought this suit saying that the Trump administration is overreaching, that it is basically a campaign it's waging against elite universities. Recap this case for us.
NADWORNY: Well, this spring, the government canceled more than 2 billion in federal grants to Harvard, so that's more than 900 projects - so studies on cancer research, biotech, the effect of school closures on student mental health. The White House accused Harvard of fostering an antisemitic environment on campus and violating civil rights law. It has asked the school to make, quote, "meaningful changes" to restore that government funding. Some of the government's demands have included altering hiring and admissions practices and receiving information about international students' discipline. Harvard has said it has taken steps to protect Jewish students. And it is suing over the cancellation of these unrelated research funding, saying it's retaliatory, and those requests, those demands are in violation of the school's First Amendment rights.
PFEIFFER: You know, Harvard may be getting the biggest headlines but universities all across the country - many of them with far fewer resources than Harvard - are watching this case closely. Give a sense of what the impact could be on schools nationwide.
NADWORNY: Well, a lot of schools are hoping this case will set a precedent, essentially draw a red line for the federal government's reach into higher ed. Jodie Ferise is a lawyer who represents several Midwest colleges and universities. Here's how she put it.
JODIE FERISE: I think that everyone is watching and worrying about the extent to which the federal government is seeking to control the higher education sector because there is nothing different about Harvard University than there is about some Midwestern, smaller private college. The same things would apply, right?
NADWORNY: So many universities across the country have also had their own research grants cuts, affecting topics ranging from national security to children's health. My colleague Emily Piper-Vallillo, who is at member station WBUR in Boston, talked with a researcher at Harvard who is among those that had their grants canceled. She lost about $12 million to study near-fatal allergies in infants. That study was conducted through a lot of other universities across the country. So even that one grant affects additional institutions and researchers and then, of course, families - far beyond Harvard.
PFEIFFER: After tomorrow's hearing, what are the next steps expected?
NADWORNY: Well, it's just a one-day hearing, and Harvard is asking the judge for a summary judgment in hopes of moving this issue along faster. But there's no indication when we'll actually get that ruling. Several legal experts told me that Harvard has a really strong case. Jessica Levinson is a professor at Loyola Law School in California.
JESSICA LEVINSON: Does the federal government have the power in the abstract to say we're going to cut off federal funding to a private institution like Harvard? I do think that power's there, but the question is how the Trump administration went about using the power.
NADWORNY: And while Levinson thinks Harvard has a good case in saying, no, the Trump administration didn't follow proper procedure in this. She says whoever loses will likely immediately appeal. And after that, it could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. So even a win in Boston, while a welcome answer to colleges and universities, won't actually feel like the end of the story.
PFEIFFER: That's NPR education correspondent Elissa Nadworny. She'll be in Boston and Cambridge tomorrow covering this hearing. Elissa, thank you.
NADWORNY: You bet. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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