Who Is Alan Garber, Jewish Economist Fighting Trump Over Antisemitism

Nearly three months since he returned to the White House, US President Donald Trump's goal to end Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programmes at federal institutions has him at loggerheads with an institution older than the United States itself - Harvard University.

Taking this battle to the Trump administration, which last Friday demanded the university end its DEI initiatives in hiring, admissions, and programs, is a 69-year-old Jewish man. Alan M Garber, the 31st President of Harvard University, was unequivocal in his rejection of these demands, including sharing hiring data.

"Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the 'intellectual conditions' at Harvard," he said in a letter addressed to the Harvard community.

Who is Alan M Garber?

• Born in 1955 in Rock Island, Illinois, to Jean and Harry Garber, Alan M Garber graduated from Rock Island High School in 1973. He grew up as a practising Jew. His father owned a liquor store and played viola in the Quad Cities Symphony, according to a report in Forward.com. He has a twin sister, Deborah, who is an artist. His older brother, David, lives in Jerusalem.
• His association with the country's oldest university dates back over five decades. In 1976, Mr Garber graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College with an AB in Economics in 1976. A year later, he earned an AM in Economics from the same University. In 1982, he finished his PhD in Economics from Harvard, and an MD from Stanford University School of Medicine. He was a faculty member at Stanford University from 1986 to 2011.
• His appointment as the interim president of Harvard was thought to be a stopgap after Claudine Gay resigned in early 2024 following controversy over how she handled pro-Palestine protests and what many considered growing antisemitism on campus. Once Mr Garber was at the helm, he helped steady the university and by August, he was appointed permanently to the job.
• Over the last week, Mr Garber has found himself at the centre of what's an intense battle between the US's most powerful institution - the president's office - and academia. Despite the administration's decision to freeze $2.2 billion in federal grants to the university and more potential risks, Mr Garber's moral clarity has earned him plaudits.
• Mr Garber met his wife, oncologist Anne Yahanda when they worked at Brigham and Women's Hospital. They have four children. He is currently Provost of Harvard University and Mallinckrodt Professor of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School. He holds faculty appointments in the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the Department of Economics.