Lauder Business School drops relationship with Harvard, citing 'solidarity' with Jewish students
The Austrian institution ended its ties to Harvard amid the Ivy League institution’s handling of anti-Semitism in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks on Israel.
'Our institution is forming new partnerships that are more closely aligned with our core values and standards,' the school announced.
A business school located in Vienna, Austria has ended its ties to Harvard University amid the Ivy League institution’s handling of anti-Semitism in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks on Israel.
“Since 2014, Lauder Business School has been a proud affiliate of Professor Michael Porter’s Microeconomics of Competitiveness Network at Harvard [University],” the school announced in a Dec. 14 Facebook post. “Lauder Business School has withdrawn from this network and expresses solidarity with the Jewish student community at Harvard University in light of recent events.”
“Our institution is forming new partnerships that are more closely aligned with our core values and standards,” the post concluded.
According to Harvard’s website, the Microeconomics of Competitiveness (MOC) Affiliate Network was formed in 2002 and is “is a group of more than 100 educational institutions around the world that teach the MOC curriculum and collaborate in the area of competitiveness.”
Lauder Business School’s decision follows former Harvard President Claudine Gay’s inability to state during a Dec. 5 congressional hearing whether calling for the genocide of Jews violated campus policies.
“Lauder Business School was founded on the philanthropic principle of making a contribution towards a just, diverse and humane world through education, research and knowledge transfer,” its vision statement reads. “As a Jewish institution of higher learning it serves as a bridge between the past and the challenges of a responsible future as well as to promote equal opportunities for young people as an educational axis between East and West in the heart of Europe.”
On Dec. 8, Campus Reform reported that Rabbi David Wolpe resigned from Harvard’s anti-Semitism committee, pointing to Gay’s “painfully inadequate” testimony before Congress days earlier.
Campus Reform has also recently reported that early action admitted students to Harvard have reconsidered attending while the school continues to face backlash for its response to campus anti-Semitism.
As of November, Harvard has been facing a civil rights investigation conducted by the Office of Civil Rights concerning incidents of anti-Semitism on campus.
Campus Reform has contacted Harvard University and the Lauder Business School for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
