Latest news with #HarvardUniversity
Fox News
39 minutes ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Harvard, University of Toronto make contingency plan to allow foreign students to study if barred from US
Harvard University and the University of Toronto have revealed a contingency plan that would allow select international Harvard graduate students to continue their education in Canada if the Trump administration's plan to impose U.S. visa restrictions and prevent them from re-entering the U.S. is upheld by the courts. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security moved last month to terminate Harvard's ability to enroll international students after the university allegedly failed to provide extensive behavioral records of student visa holders the agency had requested, including footage of protest activity involving student visa holders, even if it's not criminal, and the disciplinary records of all student visa holders in the past five years. A federal judge has since blocked the government's effort to end the university's visa program. Because of potential U.S. visa challenges, students at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government who may be unable to return to the U.S. will be given the option to continue their studies through a visiting student program at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. The program would combine courses taught by Kennedy and Munk faculty members, according to the deans of both institutions. The contingency plans were released to ease student uncertainty, but will only be used if there is enough demand from students unable to enter the U.S. over potential visa or entry restrictions, the deans said in a statement. "With these contingency plans in place, HKS will be able to continue to provide a world-class public policy education to all of our students, even if they cannot make it to our campus this year," Harvard Kennedy School Dean Jeremy Weinstein said. The program will be available to international students who have already completed one year at the U.S. campus. The Trump administration has moved to cut billions of dollars in federal research funding for Harvard, in part, over its handling of alleged antisemitism and violence on campus amid anti-Israel protests sparked by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Weinstein announced staff layoffs at Kennedy in a recent email to faculty and staff, citing "unprecedented new headwinds" creating "significant financial challenges," including a "substantial proposed increase in the endowment tax" and "massive cuts to federal funding of research." Over the past five years, more than 50% of Kennedy students have come from outside the U.S., the school's media office said. A total of 739 students from 92 countries in programs aimed at developing leadership in public policy and government are enrolled at the school, according to the Harvard International Office website.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Trump administration appeals to reinstate ban on Harvard's international students
The Trump administration is challenging a judge's ruling. This ruling blocked a proclamation affecting Harvard's international students. The appeal continues a legal battle that began in May. The proclamation cited concerns about Harvard's foreign ties. Judge Burroughs criticized the administration's attempt to restrict international students. Harvard is preparing alternative study plans for its international students. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Also Read: Harvard and University of Toronto make contingency plan for international students Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The Trump administration has appealed a federal judge's decision blocking a proclamation that sought to bar international students from enrolling at Harvard University , as reported by The New York Times. The appeal, filed in federal court in Boston, signals a continuation of a legal standoff that began in May over the university's international conflict escalated after a presidential proclamation issued on June 4. The proclamation accused Harvard of 'entanglements with foreign countries, including our adversaries,' and cited donations from Chinese entities as part of its June 23, US District Judge Allison D. Burroughs halted the enforcement of the proclamation. In her ruling, she criticized the administration's attempt to restrict international students at Harvard, calling it a 'misplaced effort to control a reputable academic institution and squelch diverse viewpoints seemingly because they are, in some instances, opposed to this administration's own views.'She added that the administration sought 'to accomplish this, at least in part, on the backs of international students, with little thought to the consequences to them or, ultimately, to our own citizens.'The administration defended its stance by referencing a 70-year-old law designed to block foreign enemies from entering the United States. It also cited the Supreme Court's decision that upheld a 2017 ban on visas for individuals from several Muslim-majority countries. However, Judge Burroughs rejected the administration's legal reasoning, calling it 'absurd.'The court order will remain in place while Harvard's lawsuit against the administration hosts approximately 7,000 international students and scholars each year, with nearly 2,000 of them being recent graduates. These students represent roughly one-fourth of the total student anticipation of further legal developments, Harvard is preparing alternate study arrangements for international students. These include the possibility of remote learning and partnerships with institutions abroad. The Harvard Kennedy School confirmed it is working with the University of Toronto to accommodate some students during the ongoing legal process.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Solar-Powered Slug Steals Chloroplasts and Stores Them for Emergency Food
'Solar-powered' sea slugs have specialized depots in their cells that store photosynthetic equipment looted from algae, a study reports. These depots provide just the right chemical environment to keep the stolen apparatus, called chloroplasts, alive and working to turn sunlight into nutrients. 'It was the wildest thing that we had seen,' says study co-author Nicholas Bellono, a biologist at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The authors also found that, in lean times, the slugs can raid these compartments to consume chloroplasts. The compartment 'is basically like a moving refrigerator of chloroplasts where, after a period of starvation, the slugs can switch from storage to consumption to survive', Bellono says. [Sign up for Today in Science, a free daily newsletter] The findings were published in Cell. Scientists discovered decades ago that certain species of sea slug store chloroplasts from the algae they eat, a diet that can turn the slugs bright green. But no one understood how the slugs keep these foreign organelles alive without the support of the rest of the algal cell. Bellono and his team added chemical tags to proteins newly made by the slugs' own cells. They found that most of the proteins in a slug's chloroplasts were made by the slug — not by the original algae. That meant the slug was helping to maintain the chloroplasts. When the scientists looked at the chloroplasts under a microscope, they found that the organelles were housed in special compartments in the slugs' guts. Each compartment was surrounded by a membrane that tested positive for markers typically found in cellular structures called phagosomes, which fuse with other structures called lysomes to digest unneeded organelles. The researchers named this structure the kleptosome, after a Greek word that means to steal. The team also found that these organelles contained ion channels — receptors that convert chemical messages into electrical signals. Among them is one called P2X4, which opens in response to the presence of ATP, an energy-carrying molecule produced during photosynthesis. When Bellono and his team blocked this channel in slugs' kleptosomes, oxygen production from photosynthesis dropped, showing that the kleptosome is actively involved in keeping the chloroplasts functioning. Having discovered the existence of the kleptosome, the researchers wondered whether it helps the slugs to resist starvation. They compared the solar-powered slug Elysia crispata with Aplysia californica, a non-photosynthetic slug that lacks kleptosomes. Aplysia died after three to four weeks without food, whereas Elysia could survive for up to four months. Yet, after four weeks, the Elysia slugs lost their green colour, turned orange — just as leaves do in autumn — and stopped photosynthesizing. Microscopy revealed that the Elysia's kleptosomes had begun fusing with lysosomes and that the colour change was caused by the degradation of the chloroplast. The study is 'remarkable,' says cell biologist Elena Oancea at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Studying the molecular and cellular processes of creatures as small as sea slugs is extremely challenging, she says. 'It takes a lot of courage to do that.' The discovery of the kleptosome could help to answer broader questions about organelle evolution and other cellular processes that we don't understand yet, Oancea says. All life is built on cells, she adds: 'It's the basic principle of nature.' This article is reproduced with permission and was first published on June 25, 2025.
New York Times
8 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Trump Administration to Appeal Order Allowing International Students at Harvard
The Trump administration said on Friday that it would appeal a district court judge's order blocking a proclamation that seeks to bar international students from attending Harvard. The notice of appeal, filed in federal court in Boston, further escalates a fight that started in May between the administration and Harvard over the enrollment of international students. The fight continued this month with an unusual White House proclamation on June 4, which accused Harvard of 'entanglements with foreign counties, including our adversaries.' The proclamation specifically referenced donations to Harvard from Chinese entities. On Monday, Judge Allison D. Burroughs of the U.S. District Court in Boston blocked its enforcement, accusing the Trump administration in a strongly worded order of 'misplaced efforts to control a reputable academic institution and squelch diverse viewpoints seemingly because they are, in some instances, opposed to this administration's own views.' She also chastised the government's attempts 'to accomplish this, at least in part, on the backs of international students, with little thought to the consequences to them or, ultimately, to our own citizens.' Judge Burroughs's order was set to remain in effect until Harvard's lawsuit against the administration was resolved. The Trump administration, in its fight with Harvard, had invoked a 70-year-old law intended to bar foreign enemies from the United States, suggesting that the university's international enrollment posed a national security threat. Judge Burroughs attacked the logic of the Trump administration's argument as 'absurd.' Lawyers for the administration cited a Supreme Court case that upheld President Trump's 2017 ban on visas for travelers from several majority Muslim countries. Harvard, known for its global prestige and influence, hosts about 7,000 international students and scholars each year, including about 2,000 recent graduates. They make up about 25 percent of the student body. While the case is being appealed, Harvard has said that it is developing contingency plans so that some international students may be able to study remotely, as they did during the pandemic, or at international locations. The Kennedy School of Government at Harvard said this week that it was making arrangements to partner with the University of Toronto to host some students there.
Mint
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Mint
University of Virginia Chief Exits Under Pressure From Trump
University of Virginia President James Ryan is stepping down amid a Trump administration probe of the school's diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, according to people familiar with the matter. Ryan informed university leadership of his resignation on a hastily-called meeting over Zoom, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussion was private. 'I thank President Ryan for his service and his hard work on behalf of the University of Virginia,' Glenn Youngkin, the state's Republican governor, said in a statement. 'The Board of Visitors has my complete confidence as they swiftly appoint a strong interim steward, and undertake the national search for a transformational leader,' he wrote. Ryan's departure from Virginia's flagship university underscores the pressure on US higher education from President Donald Trump, whose administration has scrapped federal funding for Harvard University and other schools and begun investigations of colleges for 'race-exclusionary' practices. The New York Times, which first reported the resignation, said late Thursday that the Justice Department had demanded Ryan's exit as a condition of settling a civil rights investigation of the University of Virginia's diversity practices. Ryan, the school's ninth president, developed a reputation as a champion of diversity while drawing fire from conservative alumni and Republican board members for being 'too woke,' the newspaper said. Ryan, who earned a law degree at the University of Virginia, took the reins at the institution in 2018 and previously served as dean of Harvard's Graduate School of Education. In March, the governing board voted to abolish the school's diversity, equity and inclusion office. Youngkin this week appointed four new members to the board. They include a vice chairman at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and a former chief financial officer of Carlyle Group Inc., the private equity firm where Youngkin previously worked as co-chief executive officer. The University of Virginia didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
